Chaibasa, June 18 (IANS) A major Maoist conspiracy to target security forces in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district was foiled after a joint team of security personnel recovered a cache of powerful explosives from a forest region, officials said on Wednesday.

In a joint anti-Maoist operation, the Jharkhand Police and CRPF personnel recovered 14 powerful Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and 52 kg of white explosive powder from the Chitpil forest under the Toklo police station limits.

Chaibasa Superintendent of Police Rakesh Ranjan said that the police had received intelligence inputs regarding Maoist activity in the area. “Acting swiftly, a special task team was constituted under the Chakradharpur Sub-Divisional Police Officer and Assistant Superintendent of Police Shivam Prakash (IPS). The team, comprising state police and CRPF’s 60th Battalion, launched a search operation on June 17, leading to the recovery,” he said.

The recovered explosives were safely defused and destroyed on the spot with the help of the Bomb Disposal Squad, preventing what could have been a deadly ambush on patrolling personnel, he added.

A case has been registered in the Toklo police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to police, top Maoist leaders — including Misir Besra, Anmol, Mochu, Anal, Asim Mandal, Ajay Mahato, Sagen Angaria, Ashwin, Pintu Lohara, Chandan Lohara, Amit Hansda alias Uptan, Jaikant, and Rapa Munda — are currently active in the Saranda and Kolhan forest regions, planning large-scale strikes.

In response, joint operations involving the Jharkhand Police, CRPF, Cobra commandos, and Jharkhand Jaguar units have been intensified across the region to flush out Maoist presence and neutralise their infrastructure.

The operation comes in the backdrop of rising Maoist activities in the region. On June 14, CRPF jawan Satyawan Kumar Singh was martyred in an IED blast during a joint anti-Naxal operation conducted by the Jharkhand and Odisha Police in Sundargarh district.

–IANS

snc/skp