Bhubaneswar: The Western Range DIG of Odisha and the Rourkela SP, along with police reinforcements, rushed to the Langalkata area under K. Balang police limits near the Saranda forest in Sundargarh district on Wednesday, following reports that suspected Maoists had looted a truck loaded with explosives on Tuesday.
According to sources, the truck was transporting approximately four tonnes of explosives, including hundreds of packets of gelatin sticks, from an ammunition warehouse to a stone quarry in Banko, near the Odisha-Jharkhand border. It was intercepted by suspected Maoists deep inside the forest, where the explosives were looted at gunpoint.
The attackers reportedly drove the explosives-laden truck into the nearby Saranda forest, a known Maoist stronghold, where the materials were unloaded. However, the driver and the helper of the vehicle were released unharmed.
Upon being informed about the incident, Sundargarh police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a joint combing operation. The truck was recovered later that night inside the Saranda forest.
