Bhubaneswar: Two Maoists, including a woman cadre, were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces during a combing operation in Karada forest area under Raikia police limits in Odisha’s Kandhamal on Sunday.
According to sources, a joint team of the CRPF, Special Operations Group (SOG), and District Voluntary Force (DVF) launched a combing operation at around 11 am on February 22 following intelligence inputs on the presence of Maoists in the region. Around 30 rebels are reportedly holed up in the dense, remote region, once considered as a Maoist hotbed.
“After the firing stopped, our team searched the area. They found two Maoist bodies and recovered an AK-47 rifle, six UBGL grenades, an SLR rifle, and other items such as medicines and ammunition,” ADG (anti-Naxal operations) Sanjeeb Panda told a presser on Monday.
The seizure also include an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL), a 7.62 mm rifle with ammunition, INSAS and SLR magazines, an AK-47 magazine, live ammunition, detonators, codex wires, walkie-talkies, solar panels, torches, power banks, Maoist literature, medicines, and other daily-use items.
The ADG identified the deceased as Jagyesh and Ratna, both hailing from Chhattisgarh. While Jagyesh of Sukma was deputy platoon commander, carrying a bounty of Rs 22 lakh, Ratna of Bijapur served as a CPI (Ma
oist) party member and had a reward of Rs 1.65 lakh on her head. “They were involved in more than 11 incidents,” Panda said.
The duo are believed to be part of the KKBN division (Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh) and close associates of CPI (Maoist) state committee member Sukru alias Krishna, the lone Maoist hailing from Odisha, currently active in Kandhamal.
Sukru, a member of the 8th company of the banned CPI (Maoist), reportedly escaped through the deep forest terrain during the encounter. He hails from Malkangiri’s Kalimela. Top Maoist commander Ganesh Uikey, who was gunned down in the dense forested area of Rambha on the borders of Ganjam and Kandhamal in December last year, was also part of the 8th company.
“We are carrying out our operation with greater vigour as we approach our March 31 deadline. I am confident of achieving the target. Additionally, I appeal to the Maoists who are there in the forest to abandon violence and join the mainstream. We will provide them with full support and assistance in accordance with the government’s surrender policy. Yes, the operation is ongoing. More teams have been deployed. The top Maoist in this area is Sukru, and our team is conducting further operations in that area,” he added.
This encounter came close on the heels of the recent surrender of four rebels in Kandhamal and of 15 others, including top Maoisty couple Nikhil and Indu, in Rayagada district on February 6. All eight Maoists killed in Odisha in 2025 were neutralised in Kandhamal.
The killing of the two ultras is now being seen as a major blow to the Naxals amid the statewide drive to eliminate Left-wing extremism by March 31, while focusing on forested areas where Maoists are suspected to be regrouping.