Odisha: Maoist-made mortar recovered from ambush site in Nuapada district

BHUBANESWAR: In what can be called a rare operational practice by Left-wing extremists (LWE) in Odisha, a used shell of a locally made mortar was recovered at the site of Maoist ambush that killed three CRPF commandos in Patdhara forest of Nuapada district on Tuesday.
The Maoists, besides firing a single mortar shell, rained at least 15 bullets from sophisticated guns on the CRPF commandos, who were part of the road clearing party. The party was spotted by Maoists early, giving them little chance to retaliate.
“We found one mortar cartridge. As far as information available with us, the Maoists fired as many as 15 bullets as well,” said deputy inspector general (south-western range) Rajesh Pandit. He added that the mortar seems to have been made by the Maoists. On Wednesday, CRPF additional director general Nitin Agrawal and inspector general of police (operations) Amitav Thakur visited the ambush site.
Sources said the commandos were caught off guard because there was no Maoist violence in the area in more than three years. “In 2018, the Maoists revived their base in Patdhara forest. Since it is equally contiguous with Chhattisgarh like the Sunabeda sanctuary, Maoists established their state committee in the forest and have been operating in different groups here. In a way, they have relocated to Pathdhara though it used to be their operational area,” said a senior cop.