Anti-Naxal crackdown: Forces seize arms, ammunition in Jharkhand

A joint force of CRPF and state police recovered a cache of over a dozen arms and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition as part of an anti-Naxal operation in Jharkhand’s Lohardaga district on Thursday.

A light machine gun (LMG), a semi-automatic US made rifle, an AK 47, a self-loading rifle (SLR), three INSAS rifles, six other guns and some communication gadgets were seized from a hideout, an officials said. 

Over 3,000 bullets of different calibre and magazine pouches were also seized by the team, they said.

The operation is being conducted by the 158th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and district police and it is still on, they added.

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Anti-Naxal operations in Maharashtra 

A policeman died and 12 others sustained serious injuries after in a landmine attack in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

According to the reports, a mine-protected vehicle of the C-60 commandos was on patrol at the time of the explosion.

"We are getting some preliminary reports that the troops, caught in the blast, belong to the C-60 force of the Maharashtra Police that conducts anti-Naxal operations. More details are awaited," PTI quoted a senior officer as saying.

The team of security force personnel had been conducting operations in the area. Earlier in the day, a CRPF jawan and two Maharashtra Police personnel were injured in an exchange of fire with the Naxals, the officer said.

The government has launched intensive anti-Naxal after a deadly ambush by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, which killed at least 25 CRPF men recently. 

(With Inputs from PTI)

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