Nuapada: In a major success against Left Wing Extremism, a joint team of the Odisha Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) recovered a large cache of arms, ammunition, explosives and Maoist operational equipment from the Patdhara Reserve Forest near the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border in Nuapada district.

The recovery was made during a joint search operation conducted on July 7 following specific and credible intelligence developed by the Nuapada District Police under the supervision of the Superintendent of Police (SP), Nuapada. Personnel of the District Voluntary Force (DVF) and the BD Team of the 19 Battalion CRPF carried out the operation in the forested and hilly terrain of Barpat Donger under the jurisdiction of Boden Police Station.

During the operation, security personnel unearthed a concealed Maoist dump hidden deep inside the Patdhara Reserve Forest. Preliminary investigation suggests the recovered materials were part of an old Maoist cache containing explosives, improvised explosive device (IED)-making components, firearms, ammunition and other operational articles previously used by cadres of the banned CPI (Maoist).

Among the items seized were two country-made guns, a country-made carbine with a magazine, 29 rounds of 7.62x39 mm AK-47 ammunition, 54 rounds of 7.62x51 mm SLR ammunition, two tiffin IEDs, eight gelatin sticks, 1.5 kg of gunpowder, a detonator, batteries, a multimeter, solar panel, electrical wires, codex wire, wire cutter, testing equipment, Maoist uniforms, haversacks, shoes, Maoist literature, cooking utensils and a medicine kit, besides several other articles used for making and operating explosive devices.

Police said the recovery highlights the continued efforts of security forces to identify and eliminate residual Maoist infrastructure in the region and ensure complete sanitisation of areas that were once affected by Left Wing Extremism.

Officials said the operation also reinforces Nuapada Police's achievement in meeting the target set by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to make the district free of Naxal influence by March 31, 2026. The recovery reflects the effectiveness of sustained intelligence-based operations and area domination exercises, ensuring that remnants of Maoist infrastructure do not re-emerge.

The operation concluded without any casualties to the security forces.

Police said search, area domination and sanitisation operations will continue in the adjoining forest areas along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border to prevent any resurgence of extremist activities and to maintain lasting peace, security and development in the district.