A huge cache of arms and ammunition, including 70 kgs of ammonium nitrate and 368 gelatin sticks, have been recovered by security forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations along the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border.
In a joint operation led by paramilitary ITBP, the police forces of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh recovered the explosives after they began a 'cordon and search' operation last evening in the jungles of Gwaldand, Maldogri and Jharikheri here. The operation was based on intelligence inputs.
Other recoveries by the security forces, said to be one of the largest in recent times, include 944 cartridges of .303 gun, six claymore mines, 100 other cartridges, 31 detonators, three 12-bore guns with 42 cartridges, 19 grenades, one wireless phone and a VHF radio battery set and 1,000 metres of electrical wire.
A senior security official said the recovery from the jungles of the borders of the two states indicate the dominant presence of Maoists in these areas and their activities.
The other recoveries include 650 metres of fuse wire and a carbine along with other accessories used to set up explosive ambushes.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been operating in the border areas of these states to check the movement of Naxlas as they use border areas to escape the police net.
Over 200 troops of the force were deployed for the operation which ended this morning.
