Bhubaneswar: Even after Odisha successfully achieved its objective of eliminating Maoist influence from its major insurgency-affected regions, security forces continue to uncover hidden caches of arms, explosives and operational supplies concealed by Maoist cadres in remote forest areas over the years. In the latest breakthrough, Kandhamal Police recovered a substantial stockpile of weapons, ammunition and explosive materials from concealed Maoist dump sites during a major anti-Naxal operation conducted in the district.
The recovery comes barely a day after security forces unearthed a large Maoist arms and explosives dump in Malkangiri district, underlining the continued efforts of law enforcement agencies to locate and neutralise residual Maoist infrastructure across Odisha’s former insurgency strongholds.
With this latest seizure, security forces have recovered five major Maoist dumps across Odisha within the last nine days. Significantly, it is the second such recovery from Kandhamal district during this period. Earlier, on June 11, security personnel had unearthed another Maoist dump in the Baliguda area of Kandhamal district, leading to the seizure of firearms, ammunition and other operational materials. Similar recoveries have also been reported recently from Malkangiri and Rayagada districts.
Police officials on June 17 said the latest operation was launched on June 16 based on specific intelligence inputs regarding the presence of hidden Maoist materials in forest areas covering Sitagurha, Ganjugurha, Kutibarhi, Gudrikya and Lanjam villages under the jurisdiction of Kotagarh, Baliguda and Tumudibandha police stations.
A coordinated search and combing operation involving two teams of the Special Operations Group (SOG) and one team of the District Voluntary Force (DVF) was carried out across the identified locations. During the extensive search, security personnel detected concealed Maoist dump sites deep inside forest terrain under the Kotagarh police station limits.
Given the possibility of hidden Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), a Bomb Disposal Squad was immediately deployed to secure the area and conduct a systematic examination of the site. Following all prescribed safety protocols, the squad successfully cleared the location and enabled the recovery of a significant quantity of arms, ammunition, explosive materials and logistical supplies believed to belong to Maoist cadres.
According to police, the recovered items included one .303 rifle, two 12-bore guns, two single-shot firearms, one 8 mm gun fitted with a wooden butt, one .303 magazine, 18 rounds of .303 ammunition, 10 rounds of 12-bore cartridges and 35 rounds of 8 mm ammunition. Security personnel also seized 10 metres of cordex wire and five electric detonators, materials commonly used in the fabrication and triggering of explosive devices.
Apart from weapons and explosives, several articles used by Maoist cadres during field operations were recovered from the dump. These included civil clothing, slippers, medicine kits, a plastic drum and other logistical supplies, indicating that the site had functioned as a concealed storage facility for Maoist operatives.
Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Ramendra Prasad confirmed that the recovered weapons, ammunition and explosive materials belonged to Maoist cadres. He stated that the operation was conducted with utmost caution and that all necessary safety measures were adopted to protect personnel involved in the search mission.
Officials noted that although Kandhamal district achieved the target of becoming completely Maoist-free by March 31, 2026, under the national anti-Naxal strategy, security agencies remain vigilant against any possibility of extremist resurgence. Regular area domination exercises, intelligence-based operations and combing missions are being conducted jointly by the SOG, DVF, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Border Security Force (BSF) in vulnerable and previously Maoist-affected regions.
Police data indicate that anti-Maoist operations in Kandhamal have yielded significant results over the past year. Between January 2025 and March 2026, security forces neutralized 10 Maoists in separate encounters, while 24 cadres surrendered before authorities.
Officials said the continued recovery of hidden Maoist arms dumps highlights both the effectiveness of sustained security operations and the determination of security forces to eliminate any remaining extremist infrastructure. The latest seizure is expected to further strengthen efforts aimed at ensuring lasting peace, security and stability across Kandhamal and other former Maoist-affected districts of Odisha.
