Dantewada arms dump seized: AK-47, 20 walkie-talkies, bombs recovered in Naxal hideout
Synopsis
A joint DRG-CRPF team uncovered one of Bastar's most significant Naxal arms caches in Dantewada's forests — seizing an AK-47, 20 walkie-talkies, eight cooker bombs, and over 160 rounds of ammunition in a single operation. The haul, driven by intelligence from surrendered cadres, strikes at both the firepower and communication network of left-wing extremists in Chhattisgarh.
Key Takeaways
A joint security force team recovered a major Naxal arms cache in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh on 6 October 2025 .
Seized items include one AK-47 rifle , one Insas rifle , one BGL launcher , eight cooker bombs , two tiffin bombs , and 20 walkie-talkie sets .
Total ammunition recovered: 23 AK-47 rounds , 138 rounds of .315 bore , and multiple BGL shells and rounds.
The operation was conducted under the Naxal elimination drive , guided by intelligence from surrendered Naxals .
Senior officers including IG Badri Narayan Meena and SP Chandra Mohan Singh supervised the mission.
Further investigation is underway; Dantewada police have pledged to continue relentless search operations.
Security forces unearthed a major Naxal arms cache in the dense forests of Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh, on Monday, 6 October 2025, recovering weapons, ammunition, and explosives — including an AK-47 rifle, 20 walkie-talkie sets, and multiple bombs — from a concealed hideout between Kohkaveda and Burdum villages. The operation, conducted on actionable intelligence provided by surrendered Naxals, represents one of the largest single-site recoveries in the Bastar region in recent months.
How the Operation Unfolded
A joint team comprising the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters, district police, and personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched intensive area domination and search operations across forested and hilly terrain falling under Barsur police station limits. Targeted villages included Mangnar, Burdum, Todma, and Kohkaveda.
At approximately 6:30 am on Tuesday, teams combing the thick forests between Kohkaveda and Burdum stumbled upon a carefully concealed Naxal dump. A thorough sweep of the site yielded a substantial quantity of arms and explosive materials.
Full Inventory of Seized Items
The haul included one AK-47 rifle with 23 rounds and a magazine, one Insas rifle with a magazine, one BGL launcher, one .315 bore rifle with 138 rounds, six country-made firearms (Bharmar), nine BGL shells, five BGL rounds, two tiffin bombs, eight cooker bombs, two arrow bombs, and 24 pistol rod springs. Electronic and communication equipment recovered included 20 walkie-talkie sets, one inverter, two car inverters, and one multimeter. Additionally, approximately 20 metres of Cordtex wire, 20 metres of red-black wire, and two pairs of Naxal uniforms were seized.
Senior Officers Who Led the Mission
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Badri Narayan Meena (IPS); the Deputy Inspector General (Operations), CRPF Range Dantewada; Superintendent of Police, Dantewada, Chandra Mohan Singh (IPS); Additional Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Khute (RPS); and Deputy Superintendent of Police Nasar Ullah Siddiqui (RPS) supervised the operation. Officials attributed the breakthrough to sustained area domination campaigns conducted under the ongoing Naxal elimination drive in Dantewada.
Context and What It Means for Bastar
The Bastar region has long been the epicentre of left-wing extremism in India. Arms dumps of this scale are strategically significant — they supply cadres, enable improvised explosive device (IED) attacks on security convoys, and sustain field operations deep in forests where conventional policing is limited. Notably, the recovery of 20 walkie-talkie sets points to disruption of the Naxals' communication grid, which is critical to coordinated ambushes.
This comes amid a broader intensification of counter-insurgency operations across Chhattisgarh, with the state government reporting a sustained decline in Naxal-controlled territory over the past two years. The recovered material has been seized as per procedure; further investigation is underway.
What Happens Next
Dantewada police have reaffirmed that search operations will continue without pause. The force has stated its commitment to recovering hidden arsenals from forested and inaccessible terrain to restore peace and create conditions conducive to development across the Bastar belt. Security officials indicated that the intelligence network of surrendered Naxals is expected to yield further leads.
Point of View
And disrupting it can matter more than seizing rifles. The reliance on surrendered cadres as intelligence assets also signals a maturing counter-insurgency model in Bastar, one that trades bulk deployments for precision tips. That said, the persistence of large hidden arsenals — stocked over years — is a reminder that weakening the Naxal logistical network is a slow, cumulative grind, not a series of decisive blows. The real metric to watch is not the number of dumps found, but the trend in IED attacks on security forces in the region.
NationPress
6 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What was seized in the Dantewada Naxal arms dump operation?
Security forces recovered an AK-47 rifle, an Insas rifle, a BGL launcher, a .315 bore rifle, six country-made firearms, eight cooker bombs, two tiffin bombs, two arrow bombs, 20 walkie-talkie sets, over 160 rounds of ammunition, Cordtex wire, and other equipment from a Naxal hideout in Dantewada on 6 October 2025.
How did security forces locate the Naxal hideout in Dantewada?
The operation was launched on specific intelligence provided by surrendered Naxals, which led joint teams to the forested terrain between Kohkaveda and Burdum villages under Barsur police station limits in Dantewada district.
Which security forces were involved in the Dantewada operation?
The joint team comprised district police, the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, supervised by senior officers including IG Badri Narayan Meena and SP Chandra Mohan Singh.
Why is the recovery of walkie-talkie sets significant?
The seizure of 20 walkie-talkie sets is significant because communication equipment is central to Naxals coordinating ambushes and field operations in remote forested areas; disrupting their communication network can directly reduce their operational effectiveness.
Will anti-Naxal operations continue in Dantewada?
Yes. Dantewada police have explicitly stated that search and area domination operations will continue without pause, with a focus on recovering hidden weapons and explosives from forested and inaccessible terrain across the Bastar region.
