The CRPF and Giridih police personnel recovered six guns, power gel, detonators posters and daily use items from a cave at Checharia forest in Nimiyaghat police station area on Sunday.

The cave, situated around 60km from the Giridih district headquarters, was raided by a combined team led by assistant commandant of 154th CRPF Sunil Singh and Officer in-Charge of Nimiyaghat police station Vijay Karkatta, who were deputed to carry out operations against Maoists, said SDPO, Dumari Niraj Kumar.

According to police sources, 3 riffles, 2 guns double barrel, one air gun, power gel, detonators, banner and other materials were recovered during the operation at forest area in Giridih.

A sub divisional police officer, Niraj Kumar, said that the arms and explosives were hidden in a cave and covered with leaves. “Maoists were using the cave as a natural bunker. It was not easy for anyone to reach the spot without the right information,” he added.

Giridih superintendent of police Surendra Kumar Jha said, “It was a joint team of CRPF’s 154th Battalion and the district police which made the breakthrough around 8am on a tip-off from our sources in the forest area, but Maoists managed to flee from the forest.”

Sources said the police and CRPF had intensified combing operations in various areas of the district especially the Parasnath hills, one of the safest hideouts of Maoists, to flush out the rebels.

A member of the joint team claimed the arms seizure foiled possible Maoist plans to trigger violence during combing operation, speculating that it was likely that the rebels had stashed the explosives for this purpose.

Jha also agreed that the red brigade had kept the explosives to carry out violent activities in the near future. The SP further said that the combing operation in Parasnath hills ended on Sunday, and with recovery of arms and ammunition.