Maoists blow up track near Jharkhand-Odisha border, trains get additional security
RANCHI: Freight movement was disrupted for several hours on Saturday night after Maoists triggered an explosion on the railway track between Karampada and Rengda sidings under Chakradharpur Rail Division. The Jharkhand Police confirmed the explosion and subsequent damage. There has been information about the blowing up of railway tracks in Rourkela, Odisha. Jharkhand Police is on high alert due to the bandh. A special campaign is being carried out against Maoists across Jharkhand, said Jharkhand Police spokesperson and IG (Operations), Dr Michael Raj. Notably, the CPI (Maoist) is observing Shahid Diwas (Martyr Week) from July 28 to August 3 and has called for a bandh in five states, including Jharkhand, on August 3. The Maoists had also put up a banner on the railway line in this regard. Maoist pamphlets and posters were spotted at several locations, appealing to the people for 'public resistance against police repression. In the wake of the bandh called by Maoists, a large number of security forces have been deployed on the borders of Jharkhand and Odisha. The Jharkhand government has already issued an alert in this regard, and additional forces have been provided to the trains. The explosion took place shortly after midnight on Saturday, when Maoists targeted the railway track. The blast was of low intensity and resulted in partial damage, affecting only a concrete sleeper. The railway department and local administration responded swiftly to the incident. Meanwhile, in another incident early Sunday morning, a railway gangman was killed and another injured in an IED blast while inspecting the track near Bimalgarh railway station at the OdishaJharkhand border under the Chakradharpur Division. According to railway officials, gangmen Atua Oram and Budhua Munda were injured in the blast and rushed to Bimalgarh Hospital in Odisha. While Atua succumbed to his injuries on the way, Budhua is undergoing treatment and is in stable condition. Currently, Maoist activity in Jharkhand is largely confined to the Saranda forest, as they have been pushed out of other strongholds. According to an estimate, around 8590 Maoists are supposed to be hiding in the Saranda jungles, where they have planted thousands of IEDs, which have become a challenge for the security forces. A joint operation was launched in the Saranda and Kolhan forest regions in November 2022, based on intelligence inputs suggesting that senior Maoist leaders like Misir Besra and Patiram Majhi alias Anal Da were present in the area, which is considered strategically crucial. The incidents, which took place under the Chakradhapur Railway Division, once again suggest that Maoist organisations are still not eliminated in the bordering areas and they know how to make their presence on some select occasions.
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TheNational Institute of Technology Rourkela (NIT Rourkela) has released an official notification for the recruitment of 01 Project Assistant posts. Interested and eligible candidates can apply Offline through the official NIT Rourkela website. The last date to submit the application form is 10-08-2025.
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CRPF Jawan killed in IED blast in Odisha's Sundargarh
A CRPF Jawan, Satyaban Kumar Singh, died from injuries sustained in an IED blast. The incident occurred during a combing operation in a forest area of Sundargarh district, Odisha. Singh, a member of the CRPF 134 Battalion, was 34 years old. He was taken to a hospital in Rourkela but succumbed to his injuries.
ROURKELA: In a major breakthrough, the ongoing joint search operation along the Odisha-Jharkhand border on Monday led to the further detection and recovery of a fresh tranche of around 2.5 tonnes of explosives looted by members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) outfit. Most of the industrial explosive packets, in the form of gelatin sticks, were found stacked in and around the paths used by Maoist operatives in the hilly and treacherous terrain of the dense Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Police sources informed that a few explosive packs were found lying in the forest on the Sundargarh side of the border in Odisha, under the jurisdiction of the Rourkela Police District (RPD), while the majority of the other packets were kept hidden in the Saranda forest close to the Odisha border. It appeared that due to the immediate launch of the search operation after the loot, the Maoists did not get enough time and room to carry away the explosive packets to faraway locations inside the Saranda forest and hide them safely. Since the hijacking and loot of the explosive truck carrying about four tonnes of explosives on May 27 morning from the Banko forest of K Balang police station under the RPD limits, the joint search operation has been ongoing. The Special Operation Group and District Voluntary Force (DVF), CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguar and CoBRA from Jharkhand, are participating in the combing operation. Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani, without specifying the spots of recovery, said a fresh tranche of 2.5 tonnes of explosives was recovered during the ongoing search operation along the Odisha-Jharkhand border. He said these explosives were looted by the Maoists on May 27. Earlier, following an exchange of fire with the Maoist ultras at Sarandas Tirilposi under Jareikela police limits in Jharkhand, the joint forces had recovered a substantial quantity of the looted explosives on May 30, but details were not revealed, claiming that assessment was underway. Meanwhile, two other mini-trucks laden with similar explosive packets originating from the same explosive warehouse in Bargaon block of Sundargarh were seized by police from near Balughat at Rourkela on Sunday. Police claimed that on May 27, three trucks had come out from the Bargaon explosive storage point, and after the loot of one truck, the warehouse owner, Shraban Agarwal, lied to the police about the delivery of the other two trucks. Police said it seems the other two trucks were kept hidden with the intention to sell the explosives later for higher monetary gain. DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Kumar Rai said a detailed inquiry is being carried out by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) about the release and delivery of explosives from the now-sealed warehouse. He said the concerned authorities have been asked to conduct a safety audit of all explosive storage centers or magazines in Sundargarh, adding that a necessary SOP is also getting implemented for the issue and transport of explosives.
Looted Explosives Recovered After Gunfight With Maoists
Rourkela Superintendent of Police (SP) Nitesh Wadhwani confirmed the formation of the SIT, stating that the teams immediate priority would be to trace the supply network of the explosives and identify local sympathisers aiding the Maoists.
NIA team to probe loot of explosives by suspected Maoists in Rourkela
BHUBANESWAR: Two days after suspected Maoists hijacked and looted a truck laden with a huge cache of blasting explosives, the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) officers visited Rourkela on Thursday to probe the incident along with Odisha Police. An NIA team has visited Rourkela to investigate the incident. Preliminary probe suggests the left-wing extremists from Maoist hotbed of Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand were involved in the loot of the blasting explosives, western range DIG, Brijesh Rai told the mediapersons. DGP YB Khurania who visited Rourkela on Wednesday to take stock of the investigation, has directed the police to beef up the security at vulnerable stone quarries. Sources said he has also instructed the senior officers to conduct a security audit of the stone quarries in such locations. Besides this, Khurania has asked the police to verify the security arrangements at the forested stone quarry in Banko within K Balang police limits, from where at least eight armed persons hijacked the explosives-laden truck on Tuesday. The quarry is more than 90 km from Rourkela. After hijacking the explosives-laden truck at around 9.30 am on Tuesday, the armed persons drove the vehicle to a nearby forest. Another 10-15 persons waiting inside the forest looted at least 150 packets of explosives each weighing 15 to 25 kg. The empty vehicle was later found abandoned inside the forest and its driver was unhurt. Meanwhile, Rourkela police intensified combing operation along the Odisha-Jharkhand border. Senior officers IG (operations) Deepak Kumar, DIG (western range) Brijesh Kumar Rai and Sundargarh SP Pratyush Diwakar, also in charge of Rourkela are camping in the steel city.
Suspected Maoists loot 4 tonnes explosives-laden truck in Odisha
The Western Range DIG of Odisha and the Rourkela SP, along with police reinforcements, rushed to the Langalkata area under K. Balang police limits near the Saranda forest in Sundargarh district on Wednesday, following reports that suspected Maoists ...
Burglars mock Rourkela police, steal from officers house on police station campus
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