In what could be a clear display of audacity and sophistication, the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and its formations are now using heavy duty silent generators deep in the jungles for running their illegal arms factories.
The revelation was made after a mini arms factory was unearthed by the security forces in Khunti district of Jharkhand on August 16. The intelligence-based joint operation was carried out by the CRPF and Jharkhand police at the house of Naxal cadre Munna Gope alias Munna Mahto who was involved in running the arms factory.
During spot interrogation, Mahto revealed the location of a dump of ammunition in the the forest area of Kotanger village and the search by the forces led to the recovery of over 3000 rounds of live ammunition for different category of rifles including the INSAS and SlR besides those for the 9 mm pistols. Over 1000 empty cases of 12 bore guns and seven kg of iron balls were also recovered during the searches.
“During the search of the adjacent jungles, the joint team of the CRPF and the police recovered a heavy duty generator of 15 KVA. Following the recovery of the generator set, the troops carried out a combing operation at adjacent Kisni village in Gumla district and recovered other machinery and tools including drill machines, blades and cutters used for making arms,” a senior CRPF official said here.
The interrogation of Mahto revealed that the dump was owned by the People’s liberation Front of India, a splinter group of the CPI (Maoist) that is responsible for large-scale violence and killings in Jharkhand.
The official further said, “More such dumps of arms and ammunition are likely to be still there even as our operations are continuing in the area.” Mahto further revealed that PlFI cadres fabricated the parts at Titahi Pahantoli and used to assemble them at Kotanger, both the villages are located at a distance of seven km from each other.
The CRPF and the State police had unearthed a gun factory in Khunti district on June 18 and another arms factory on December 27 last year.
The security forces are baffled by the recovery of the generator as the same could give the ultras a leverage in mass production of illegal arms and ammunition and accordingly they are developing intelligence to bust more such facilities. Busting of at least three arms factories within a span of a few months in just Khunti district is a pointer to the Maoists’ determination to set up again such facilities even after they are busted by the security forces, the official added.