Bhubaneswar: Expressing his concern for the growing activities of Maoists in the State, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, through a tweet Wednesday, appealed to the Maoists to drop weapons and join the mainstream.
While informing in the tweet about being congratulated by Union home minister Rajnath Singh over Odisha Police’s success in anti-Maoist operations, Patnaik stressed that there is no place for violence in a democracy.
The CM’s gesture comes a couple of days after seven Maoists were killed in separate encounters with security personnel in Kandhamal and Balangir districts.
Earlier, a meeting was held at Visakhapatnam where the DGP and BSF personnel of both the State and neighbour Andhra Pradesh jointly prepared a blueprint to formulate a strategy against the Red Rebels.
Following the meeting, the DGP had informed that the police will come down hard on the Maoists in coordination with the neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Telangana police. He had also stressed on the need to strengthen intelligence network in Maoist-prone Koraput, Malkangiri, Nuapada, Kalahandi and Rayagada districts.
