India News | Odisha Police Arrests Mastermind in Explosive Loot Case
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Odisha police on Sunday arrested the prime accused and mastermind behind the loot of five tonne of explosives by Maoists from a vehicle near a store quarry in Sundergarh district on May 27, an official said.
Rourkela (Odisha), Jun 15 (PTI) The Odisha police on Sunday arrested the prime accused and mastermind behind the loot of five tonne of explosives by Maoists from a vehicle near a store quarry in Sundergarh district on May 27, an official said.
The arrested accused has been identified as George Munda alias Kulu (43) from Banko village under K Balang police station.
Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Out on Morning Walk, Youth Shot Dead in Front of Friends in Budaun.
Munda was passing important information to the Maoists. He was the main conspirator from the beginning of the loot and actively passed information to the Maoists, said DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Rai.
During the investigation, George's complicity was found by the police. He was living just opposite to the quarry and was objecting to it, which was closed down subsequently, Rai said.
Also Read | Bihar: Woman Constable Shot at by Male Colleague in Kaimur District Over Money Dispute.
"He was very vocal against the quarry and he then took the issue to the Maoists. He met the Maoists multiple times and passed vital intelligence regarding the movement of explosive trucks," the DIG said.
It was he who had passed the information regarding the movement of the vehicle with explosives and ensured that the loot was carried out without any problem, the police said.
On May 27, a group of armed Maoists intercepted the explosives van en route to Banko quarry from Itma and decamped with 200 packets of explosives.
The state police took the issue seriously and DGP Y B Khurania flew to Rourkela and held meetings with senior officials.
So far, 3.8 tonne of explosives have been recovered while search is still going on to recover the remaining explosives, they said.
(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)