Pakistani mortar shell recovered near India-Bangladesh borders in Bengal’s Cooch Behar
When one of the construction workers first noticed the shell, he mistook it as some ordinary explosive and panicked.
The Border Security Force (BSF) busted an ammunition dump suspected to have been used by the Maoists for illegal manufacturing and repair of weapons to target the security forces in Odisha’s Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected Malkangiri district, an official said on Friday.
“BSF troops from the Company Operating Base Bodigetta, 142 Battalion BSF, conducted a special operations mission in the vicinity of the Gomphakonda irrigation canal at the foothills of the Bejangiwada Reserve Forest on Thursday and seized an improvised explosive device (IED) wrapped in plastic and buried near a twin tree close to the Charkondal canal bridge near Bodigetta village under Kalimela police limits in Odisha’s Malkangiri district”, BSF informed in a statement.
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During the operation, BSF troops seized one steel tiffin IED weighing around 1.5 kg, one electric detonator and electric wire. The IED was safely neutralised by the bomb disposal squad, it said.
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This region has been a known Maoist stronghold for over a decade, where Maoist cadres and their sympathisers have used the area for shelter and sustenance. These groups have historically planted IEDs, stored bomb-making materials, and concealed arms in isolated locations to target security forces and police personnel operating in the region, the release said.
The BSF is actively conducting operations in Malkangiri district, maintaining a strong presence and bolstering the sense of security among local residents. The recovery of the IED is likely to demoralise Maoist sympathisers still active in the area, while encouraging the security forces to intensify their efforts. Following this discovery, further combing and search operations are underway in the region, it concluded.
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