12 Killed In Maoists Violence In Odisha This Year: Union Minister

New Delhi: A total of 12 persons have been killed in the Maoist attack in Odisha between January and November 15 this year, said Union Minister of State for Home, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir in the Lok Sabha.

Replying to the questions of Congress MP Rajeev Shankarrao Satav and BJP MP Dr Heena Vijay Kumar Gavit on Tuesday, the Union minister said of the 73 cases of Maoist violence in Odisha during the aforesaid period, 12 people were killed.

He, however, said Maoist violence in the state had gradually come down during 2011-2018.

Giving details, the Union minister said 799 cases of Maoist violence had taken place in Odisha between 2011 and November, 2018 resulting in the death of 255 people.

“In 2011, Odisha had witnessed 192 Maoist violence, which drastically came down to only 73 from January till November 15 in 2018,” he informed the Lower House.

Among the four Maoist-prone states of Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, the highest number of 355 Maoist violence cases have been reported from Chhattisgarh resulting in the death of 138 people, the Union Minister informed.

Among these four states, Odisha had witnessed comparatively less number of violence perpetrated by the Left-wing extremists, he pointed out.