Odisha Police Launch Major Operation to Recover Weapons Looted by Maoists
Following the successful elimination of left-wing extremism (LWE) from the state by the March 31 deadline set by the central government, the Odisha police have now initiated a critical new mission. Their focus has shifted to recovering sophisticated weapons that were looted by Maoist insurgents from security forces over the past two decades.
Significant Progress Already Made in Weapon Recovery
Police sources reveal that out of 1,539 sophisticated arms stolen by Maoists in Odisha, an impressive 929 weapons have already been retrieved. This represents nearly 60% of the total looted arsenal. The recovered weapons include light machine guns, SLRs, sten guns, carbines, AK-47 rifles, pistols, and revolvers.
"Our prime focus now is to ensure the remaining 610 looted arms are traced back to Odisha," stated ADG (anti-Maoist operations) Sanjeeb Panda. "We are confident of achieving this target soon. The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has also prioritised the backtracking of these weapons."
Historical Context of Maoist Weapon Thefts
Between 2001 and 2022, Maoist groups carried out multiple coordinated attacks on security establishments across Odisha to seize weapons. The most significant incident occurred in 2008 when insurgents stormed the police training school and armoury in Nayagarh district, making off with 994 weapons in a single operation.
Other major thefts included:
- 489 arms stolen from Koraput district police armoury in 2004
- 30 weapons taken from Odisha Special Armed Police (OSAP) 3rd battalion in 2006
National Database Initiative for Weapon Tracking
Following recent directives from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, all affected states have been instructed to compile comprehensive databases of both looted and recovered weapons. This coordinated approach facilitates information sharing between states, helping identify stolen arms and return them to their rightful owners.
Each police weapon carries unique identification markers including body and butt numbers, making precise tracking and verification possible even years after theft.
Inter-State Cooperation Yielding Results
The database sharing initiative is already producing tangible results. Maharashtra police recently shared their seizure list with Odisha authorities, enabling the identification of 28 weapons originally stolen from Odisha.
With substantial weapon caches recovered in neighboring Chhattisgarh over the past 18 months, Odisha police anticipate that some of those arms may also belong to their state. "We recovered 276 arms, of which 80 were ours and 196 belonged to other states," explained Panda. "Three were tagged to Maharashtra. We will share the data with other states to facilitate their return."
Critical Importance of Weapon Recovery
Police authorities emphasize that recovering these weapons serves multiple crucial purposes. First, it prevents the potential misuse of sophisticated arms by criminal elements or remaining insurgent groups. Second, it eliminates any possibility of LWE revival in the region by depriving potential militants of weaponry.
Intelligence suggests that Maoists may have hidden substantial weapon caches underground in forested areas of the state. Search operations are currently underway across these regions to locate and secure any remaining hidden arms.
The Odisha police remain committed to this recovery mission, viewing it as essential to maintaining the hard-won security gains achieved through the elimination of left-wing extremism from the state.
