Bhubaneswar: Praising Odisha police and SOG jawans in combating Maoists and checking their activities, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh each to the Bolangir and Kandhamal districts.
The Chief Minister convened a high level review meeting on Maoist menace in the state and appealed to the red rebels to lay down their arms and join the mainstream of the society.
Officials, after the meeting, said the Maoist menace in the state is under total control.
The Chief Minister congratulated the police and SOG jawans for taking bold steps in combating the Maoist activities, particularly in Bolangir and Kandhamal districts. The government, he said, will also felicitate the police officers and the jawans engaged in anti-Maoist operations in the two districts and announced a cash award of Rs 10 lakh each to the Bolangir and Kandhamal police as an additional reward money besides the normal cash awards given to the security forces. The high-level meeting was attended by State Chief Secretary AP Padhi, DGP RP Sharma, the Intelligence Chief and the Superintendent of Police of Bolangir and Kandhamal.
Recently, the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had also congratulated the Chief Minister and the Odisha Police on their success in the anti-Maoist operations in the state.
In a major setback to the Maoists, as many as seven extremists were killed in two separate anti-Naxal operations conducted by security police personnel in Bolangir and Kandhamal.
While two hard core Maoists were killed during an encounter with the security forces near Dudkamal village under Belpada block in Bolangir district Saturday night, five ultras, including two women, were gunned down in an encounter in Gotangi forest of Kandhamal district Sunday.
Among the seven Maoists killed in an encounter with the Odisha Police, two hard core Maoists identified as Sanjib and Rakesh were carrying a cash award of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh respectively.
Meanwhile, fresh reports suggest that a Maoist was killed and two rifles were seized during a joint operation by SOG and Greyhounds in Malkangiri district Thursday.
The encounter took place near Balimela reservoir between LWE activists and a joint team of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh security forces.
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