Security forces today busted a bunker on Kathalia hill, said to be a stronghold of armed Maoist rebels. Besides rifles and huge cartridges, the police also claimed to have recovered a large number of INSAS magazines and a hand grenade, said SP Dumka YS Ramesh. Ramesh said security forces busted the bunkers in a joint operation with the 35th Battalion of SSB. Acting on a tip-off, the forces identified the bunkers, which yielded a rich haul.
According to Ramesh, the bunkers contained two INSAS rifles of foreign-make, one hand grande, 383 cartridges, 8-no of INSAS magazines, one fuse of hand grenades, two magazine pouches, two pitthus and several hundred metres of wire. The bunkers were camouflaged under wild growths of plants, twigs and boulders.
Ramesh and SSB commandant MK Panday claimed that security forces were gradually gaining the upper hand at Kathalia hills. The quality of intelligence available to the security forces has improved. They also claimed to be receiving valuable inputs from villagers. Officials conducting the raid are YS Ramesh, SP (Dumka), MK Pandey, Ratindra Charan Mishra, ASP operation and Imanuel Baski, Lalit Shah, Dy Commandant SSB, Narpat Singh Dy. Commandant SSB, while Sanjay Kumar Malviya and Chatan Mahto, Raneswar PS in Dumka.