Security personnel have unearthed a substantial quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives during recent search and demining operations in Bijapur district, officials said on Tuesday. The latest haul, found this month in the Lanka Pahadi forest under the Bedre police station limits, included a Chinese-made hand grenade among other arms, the police official added.
Items recovered from Lanka Pahadi cache
The official listed the principal items recovered from the site in Lanka Pahadi:
- 1 Self Loading Rifle (SLR)
- 1 INSAS rifle
- 1 .315-bore gun
- 2 barrel grenade launchers (BGLs) and 17 BGL shells
- 1 Chinese hand grenade
- 49 rounds of SLR ammunition, 15 rounds of .315-bore
- 4 SLR magazines and 1 .315-bore magazine
The recovered material was taken into custody following prescribed procedures and has been forwarded for technical examination and further investigation, the official said.
Sequence of recent recoveries across Bijapur
Police said the Lanka Pahadi find is the latest in a series of seizures from forested areas of Bijapur during September. They described additional recoveries made on other dates and at different police station limits:
- September 20 — An AK-47, a .315-bore weapon, a single-shot firearm, a pistol, live rounds and magazines were recovered from the Bhairamgarh police station area.
- September 16 — A .315-bore rifle, 49 live rounds, 25 live .303 rounds, 49 live 12-bore rounds, around 8 kg gelatin, a walkie-talkie and assorted tools were seized from the Farsegarh police limits.
- September 10 — Bundles of non-electrical wire, detonators and grenades were located in the Indripaal forest under Mirtur police station limits.
- September 1 — A country-made 12-bore gun, a BGL launcher, eight BGL shells, 10 live 12-bore rounds and other material were recovered from a dump in the Neelmadgu forest under Bhopalpatnam police station limits.
| Date | Location (Police limits) | Key recoveries |
|---|---|---|
| September (this month) | Lanka Pahadi (Bedre) | SLR, INSAS, .315 gun, BGLs, Chinese grenade, rounds, magazines |
| September 20 | Bhairamgarh | AK-47, .315, pistol, live ammunition, magazines |
| September 16 | Farsegarh | .315 rifle, live rounds, gelatin, walkie-talkie |
Officials said additional miscellaneous materials and equipment were also seized from the dumps, and that forensic analysis will help establish origins and possible links to active cadres or past insurgent activity.
Context: intensified searches after formal declaration
Chhattisgarh was formally declared free from active Maoist presence on 31 March. Following that announcement, security forces intensified search and clearance operations across the Bastar region — which comprises seven districts, including Bijapur — to locate weapons, explosives and cash stashes concealed by insurgents during previous years, the official noted.
Law-enforcement agencies say locating and neutralising such dumps is an essential component of post-conflict stabilization, removing means by which any remnant elements might re-equip. The retrieval of detonators, wire bundles and gelatin in earlier recoveries underlines the potential for stored explosives to pose risks to both security personnel and civilians if left unattended.
Police also indicated that teams will continue systematic demining and combing operations in remote forest pockets, while following up leads to trace logistics chains and those responsible for hiding the material. The official added that inquiries are ongoing and further details will be shared as investigations progress.
The continuing recoveries underscore the priority placed on clearing weapons caches and reducing the threat posed by undiscovered arms and explosives in former strongholds across Bastar, as authorities pursue consolidation of peace and public safety.
