Odisha Police Crack Down on Explosive Trafficking After Maoist Incident
Intensified Raids Following Maoist Explosives Theft
Bhubaneswar: Following the recovery of approximately 2.5 tonnes of gelatin sticks stolen by Maoists in Sundergarh district, Odisha Police have ramped up their operations, targeting various explosive storage facilities across three districts. Two individuals have been apprehended for allegedly breaching the Explosive Act, as confirmed by a senior police official.
The operations are focused on the mineral-rich and border districts of Sundergarh, Rourkela, and Keonjhar, according to DIG Brijesh Rai from the Western Range.
The DIG reported that Sraban Agarwal, who owns a warehouse in Badagaon, along with a truck driver transporting explosive materials, was taken into custody by the Special Investigating Team (SIT). Their arrests stemmed from the discovery of two trucks loaded with explosives in the Raghunathpali police jurisdiction on Sunday.
Authorities found the explosive-laden trucks parked near a petrol station, leading to the arrest of one driver. The materials were en route to an undisclosed location, having originated from Agarwal's warehouse.
Previously, Agarwal had been detained in Rourkela and subsequently arrested after SIT interrogations. His warehouse was sealed last week following the May 27 incident involving the Maoist theft of explosives, raising serious concerns about explosive security and potential misuse.
Police sources indicated that three trucks loaded with explosives departed from Agarwal's warehouse on May 27. While one truckload was hijacked by Maoists, Agarwal misled authorities by asserting that the other two trucks had been delivered to clients.
However, police later discovered two trucks loaded with explosives parked suspiciously near a fuel station in Balughat, Raghunathpali. They recovered 116 packets of gelatin sticks, 416 detonators, and 750 meters of electric charging wires from these trucks, intensifying suspicions of a larger illegal operation.
Agarwal was arrested for unlawfully supplying explosives to stone quarries and mines, violating standard operating procedures.
On Monday, security forces recovered around 2.5 tonnes of explosives during a search operation in the Saranda forest area near the Jharkhand border.
On May 27, armed Maoists had commandeered an explosives-laden truck from the Banko stone quarry located in the K Balang area of Sundergarh district.