The police on Thursday recovered two high-intensity can bombs from Goelkera police station area in West Singhbhum district about 140 kilometres away from here. Sources said that the can bombs, weighing about 25 kilograms each, were buried under at Pandwa village in Goelkera. The police suspect the Maoists could have planted the explosives for the six-day-long Jharkhand bandh from April 25, for which the outlawed outfit had given a call.
West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police, Michael Raj confirmed about the recovery of the can bombs. “Two can bombs besides several explosives and other material have been recovered from Goelkera police station area by the CRPF. Both the bombs have been defused. We are investigating into the incident and have beefed up the security in the area,” Raj said.
Meanwhile, another police official said the bombs were recovered after a section of local villagers saw them and informed the police. “We have recovered can bombs, six mortars, cartridges of 303 rifles and 9mm pistols, empty cartridges, and Naxal literature,” he said. He pointed out that the recovery assumed significance due to the rise in Maoists activities.
He went on to add that after the recovery of the explosives and other materials, the police and paramilitary forces have intensified the long range patrolling in Goelkera, which is close to Saranda. Notably, the rebel outfit CPI (Maoist) has given a six-day Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Odisha bandh call to be effective from April 25 to protest the alleged atrocities on the villagers and forcible surrender.
Deputy Inspector General of police, Kolhan, RK Dhan said the security has been beefed up in the twin-districts of Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan in view of the rebel-sponsored bandh. “We have put the police and paramilitary forces on the alert across the Kolhan in view of the six-day bandh call given by the rebels,” said Dhan. Sources informed that the high alert has been sounded after Intelligence reported that the ultras may attack at Naxal areas of Ghatshila and Patamda. “We have alerted security forces in vulnerable areas of Patamda, Ghatshila and Potka in view of the bandh call given by the Naxalites,” said a police official.
Sources informed that there are Intelligence inputs that CPI (Maoist) may indulge in demonstrative acts of violence by targeting security forces and economic infrastructure such as trains, buses, railway stations, bus stations and other places where people are likely to gather in significant numbers. “A strict vigil would be kept on all non-Government commercial establishments. Even the security would be beefed up at some of the Naxal-prone areas of Ghatshila and Dumaria,” said a police official.