Police Begin Maoist Treasure Hunt

Hyderabad: Following the mass surrender and alleged encounters with senior Maoist leaders, security forces intensified search operations in former Maoist strongholds to trace dumps where banned Naxals might have stored gold and weapons.

According to sources, security forces received information that Maoists were collecting funds in the form of cash for the party’s regular activities. “Security forces are believed to keep the cash in the dumps as they cannot carry it after combing operations. They have appointed selected cadres and leaders to handle the dumps.”

Sources said, “Since the money buried in the ground during the rainy season became dirty, they converted the money into gold and buried it in a few selected places.”

During the interrogation of the surrendered Maoists, police officials reportedly sought more details about the locations of the garbage dumps.

After the confirmations received, the security forces started their search operations and asked the security forces to use the location, Bluetooth and hotspot options on their smart phones in case a garbage dump containing gold was found.

Security forces also launched search operations in various parts of Dandakaranya, including Karreguttalu, Bastar, Sukma and Gadchiroli. Recently, the Maharashtra government set up a police station in a forest area by even sending personnel to a small village where less than 50 members reside.

In some forest areas, governments have provided two-wheelers as well as sufficient fuel to move into dense forests after the Maoists’ regular activities diminished. Sources said that if any garbage containing gold is found, they will hand it over to the governments.