Chaibasa (Jharkhand), Apr 5 (PTI) Security forces on Saturday destroyed 16 bunkers of Maoists and seized four powerful improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district on Saturday, police said.

Personnel of CRPF and Jharkhand Police, during a joint operation, spotted four IEDs planted on a forest path near Babudera village in Jaraikela police station area by CPI(Maoist) cadres to inflict casualties on the security forces, Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Shekhar said.

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The IEDs, each weighing 5 kg, were defused by a bomb disposal squad, he said.

The security forces also came across 16 large bunkers of the Maoists and destroyed those, he said, adding each bunker had the capacity to hold 40-50 Naxals.

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A special operation was launched on Saturday on the basis of intelligence inputs about the movement of top Maoist leaders, including Misir Besra, who carries a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head, in Naxal-hit Chotanagra and Jaraikela police station areas in the district, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)