Kolkata, Nov 10 — The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), in a joint operation with the Bihar Police, busted a naxal arms dump in Lakhisarai on Tuesday.
The operation was carried out by troops of the 29 Bn SSB and local police personnel. The arms dump was located at Simratri village.
Among the weapons seized was a carbine. Several rounds of ammunition and tactical equipment, including a binocular, were also recovered. The SSB has been part of similar operations in the past as well.
On October 7, troops of the same battalion, along with Bihar Police personnel, unearthed a hidden arms and ammunition dump in the Dhangai–Teletand forest area of Gaya Ji.
The recovered items then included a 9mm carbine, two country-made guns, pistol magazines, a 5-watt radio telephony set, 79 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and 13 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.
"While the Maoists were active, cadres would carefully pack weapons, ammunition and other equipment and store them at strategic locations for use at short notice. This was done when the cadres moved out of the forested areas to interact with locals and gather intelligence. Now that the insurgency has been effectively countered, security agencies have to trace such dumps and seize the weapons," an official said.
Similar seizures have been made in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha. Even explosive substances have been recovered during some operations.
According to officials, while the top leadership has either surrendered or been eliminated or arrested, several lower-rung cadres may have escaped and returned to the mainstream without informing the authorities.
Such members of the outfit may know the locations of the arms and use them in future for criminal activities. Such arms dumps may also be located by criminal gangs.
"The recovery of the weapons is crucial. Surrendered and arrested Naxalites are often urged to reveal their locations. Some of the stores are found during combing operations. Sometimes the dumps are found by locals who enter the forests. While a Naxal Mukt Bharat has been achieved, all weapons will also have to be accounted for," the official said.
Similar operations are also carried out in Manipur and other insurgency-affected states. Central Armed Police Forces like the SSB participate in these operations along with the state police.