Bhubaneswar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has begun a probe into the theft of around 4 tonnes of explosives from a stone quarry in Odisha’s Sundargarh district on May 27.

A three-member team of the NIA today reached Sundargarh and began a probe into the case.

The Odisha Police had earlier confirmed that Maoists from neighbouring Jharkhand were involved in the hijacking of an explosive laden truck from the stone quarry in K Balang area in Sundargarh on May 27 (Tuesday).

According to police, around 30 armed Maoists from Jharkhand reached the stone quarry at around 10 am on May 27 and hijacked the gelatine sticks laden truck by holding the employees as well as the driver of the vehicle at gunpoint.

It is suspected that Maoists from the Saranda forests in Jharkhand might have hijacked the truck and stolen the explosives.

The incident has triggered apprehensions that the stolen explosives might be used against the security forces engaged in anti-Maoists operations in Odisha and other states.

Soon after the incident, Director General of Police (DGP) YB Khurania, IG (Operations) Deepak Kumar and other senior police officials rushed to Rourkela and took stock of the investigation.

The security forces from Odisha and Jharkhand along with the CRPF personnel have launched a massive search operation to retrieve the stolen explosives.