40 IEDs recovered in Aurangabad during anti-naxal drive

Speed Post News Network

Aurangabad: Forty Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were recovered from a spot, where an encounter between police and maoists  had taken place on September 1 night, after para-military personnel launched a major offensive against naxalites in and around village Pachrukhiya under Madanpur police station in Aurangabad district on Friday. Some blood stained clothes were also recovered from the spot.

A fierce encounter had taken place between para-military forces, engaged in anti-naxal operations, and naxals near Pachrukhiya village on Thursday night. Even the COBRA battalion of Jharkhand was camping nearby under their own jurisdiction when the encounter started.

IG, Patna zone, Nayyar Hasnain Khan, who was on way to Dehri, told a group of reporters that after receiving inputs that some senior naxal leaders have been spotted in the said locality, separate police teams were pressed into service to arrest them. He said that as the naxals noticed movement of a large number of cops in hilly areas, they opened fire at the cops forcing the latter to retaliate.

Khan said that a massive anti-naxal operation has been launched against the naxals and even security personnel from neighbouring Jharkhand are participating in it. The police teams have been directed to remain alert and take precautionary steps in the wake of blasts triggered by the naxals at village Dumri Nala in which 10 CRPF jawans had lost their lives recently, he said. Khan said that some blood stained clothes were recovered from the spot where encounter had taken place. “It seems that some of the naxals might have sustained injuries in the encounter,” he said adding that anti-naxal operations would continue in the district.

If policemen at Madanpur police station are to be believed, the naxals had stocked IEDs to target the jawans engaged in anti-naxal operations across the district. It may be mentioned here that the naxalites are trying to re-group themselves in recent days. They had set ablaze a mobile tower in the district recently. That apart, several villages falling under  Dhibra, Deo and Madanpur police stations are said to be hot bed of naxal movement in Aurangabad.