Bhubaneswar, June 4 The Director General of Police in Odisha YB Khurania on Wednesday officially confirmed that 3.8 tonnes of explosives out of the around 5 tonnes of explosives, looted by armed Maoists on May 27 in Sundargarh district, have so far been recovered by the security forces.
Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday, Khurania also affirmed the involvement of armed Maoist ultras in daylight heist of huge quantity of explosives by hijacking of a vehicle from Banko Mines area under K Balanga police limits of Sundargarh district on May 27.
"Upon receipt of the information, the Odisha Police, Jharkhand Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jointly launched search operation in Saranda Jungle. The joint operation which started on May 27th night is still on. Around 3.8 tonnes of explosives, out of the looted explosives weighing around 5 tonnes, have so far been recovered. The joint operation by Odisha police, Jharkhand Police and CRPF is still on to recover the remaining amount of explosive."
He further revealed that a special investigating team led by an Additional Superintendent of Police, Rourkela has been constituted to probe into the heist.
Khurania also added that during the investigation, the police received an information that a suspicious vehicle is parked near a petrol pump in Rourkela on June 1.
The DGP stated that Police later found that the explosive kept in the vehicle sourced from the same magazine from where the explosive, looted by Maoists at Banko mines on May 27, was also procured. A separate case was registered in this regard and the concerned magazine has also been sealed.
The owner of the explosive magazine and his driver were also arrested in the case and forwarded to court. Further investigation in the case is on.
The DGP also stated that police have initiated checking at explosive magazines located in various districts in Northern Range, Western range and
Southwestern range of the state to ascertain whether the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) related to explosives are being followed properly or not and the explosive magazine warehouses contain the same amount of material as mentioned in their records.
The findings from the checking will come out in a day or two but the efforts of Odisha police continue.
"I today want to congratulate the personnel of Odisha Police including the SOG (Special Operation Group) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) jawans, Jharkhand Police, especially their Jaguar Force, CRPF officials and its CoBRA Units, as for their continuous efforts, we have succeeded in recovering three-fourth of the huge explosive looted and I hope that we will be able to recover the remaining amount of explosive. The efforts are on to arrest all those involved in the incident,” said Khurania.
DGP Khurania also confessed towards lapses on part of the police and other agencies behind the heist of explosive.
Odisha police are also examining how much the SOPs prepared under different acts are being followed and where these rules are being flouted. Police will take all the remedial measures to address the lapses.
He clarified that the magazine owner has violated the SOPs as it had not informed the police or district administration regarding the movements of the explosives to the Banko mines.
--IANS
gyan/pgh
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