30 grenades, 9 kgs of explosive substances recovered from Latehar district

Security forces recovered 30 locally manufactured hand grenades and nine kg of explosive substances from a forest in Latehar district, police said on Saturday. The explosives were recovered from the Kumandih forest during a search operation on Friday, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Latehar district, Prasant Anand, said. A total of 140 partly-manufactured hand grenades and materials for making grenades were also recovered, the SP said.

Meanwhile, the security forces and the Maoists exchanged gunfire in the forests of Pirtand in Giridih district, the police said. There was no report of any casualty, they said. Acting on a tip-off that Maoists were hiding in the forests, the 154 Battalion of the CPRF and district police forces headed by Superintendent of Police Surendra Jha surrounded the forests and launched a search operation. On sighting the security forces, the Maoists opened fire and fled when police retaliated. The search operation is still on, a senior police officer said. In another incident in Palamau district, a Maoist was arrested on Saturday, a police officer said.

(With inputs from agencies.)