BHUBANESWAR: Union Home minister Amit Shah felicitated the Odisha police at Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh on Monday for successfully achieving Naxal-free status in the state on March 31. DGP Y B Khurania and additional director general (anti-Naxal operations) Sanjeeb Panda received a memento from Shah in recognition of the force’s accomplishment. IGP (operations) Deepak Kumar, DIG (special intelligence wing) Akhileshvar Singh, Kandhamal SP Harisha BC, SP Kandhamal, DSP Santosh Sahu, DSP Sudesh Kumar Bal, Assistant Commandant PKMN Panda, assistant commandant Ashok Brahma and inspector (armed) Debasish Sai attended the felicitation ceremony. “Odisha police is grateful to the Union Home minister for recognising the efforts in anti-naxal front. We attribute the success to the joint effort of SOG, DVF, SIW, CRPF, and BSF,” Panda said. Between 2025 and March 2026, altogether 27 Maoists, including 2 central committee members, were gunned down. They Included 17 Maoists who were killed in a joint operation in Chhattisgarh. While 9 maoists were arrested during the period, 78 surrendered before Odisha police Including 4 state committee members.More than 100 Maoists operating in Odisha surrendered before Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh police due to extensive operations conducted in Odisha by the security forces.
