Bihar: COBRA commandos, police thwart Maoist attack, recover 50 powerful IEDs

Bihar Police and the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) commando battalion for resolute action (COBRA) foiled a major Maoist attack and prevented casualty to forces in the state’s south-east forests on Sunday evening.

The CRPF’s 205 COBRA battalion and police recovered 50 powerful improvised explosives devices (IED) while they were conducting a joint operation against the Maoists in the hilly forest areas of Aurangabad district.

The IEDs were recovered from Pachrukhiya hill and from near Gobardah village in the forests that come under the Naxal-infested Madanpur police station limits.

The operation began following a tip-off regarding the presence of Maoists on the hill and near Gobardah village in the forests. Aurangabad SP Ambrish Rahul formed a team under sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Amit Kumar and 205 COBRA assistant commandant Upendra Pratap Singh for a search operation.

The team recovered three powerful pressure IEDs planted on the search route, while 47 cane IEDs were found in a cave. Experts safely neutralised the IEDs at designated points in the forest, SDPO Kumar said.

“The IEDs were meant to attack security forces, probably through serial blasts, and to adversely affect the ongoing search operations in the area, bordering dense hilly forest region of Jharkhand, which is known as Maoist safe zone,” an official said.