Bhubaneswar: Expressing grave concern over the rising violent activities by Maoists in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik called upon the rebels to shun violence and join the mainstream.
Stating in a tweet message about being congratulated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh over the success of Odisha Police in anti-Maoist operations, the Chief Minister said that there is no place for violence in democracy.
Two days ago, at least seven Maoists were gunned down in separate encounters with security personnel in Kandhamal and Balangir districts.
Union Home Minister Shri @rajnathsingh called me & congratulated @odisha_police on it’s stupendous success in anti-Maoist operations in #Odisha. In democracy there is no place for violence. I appeal to them to drop weapons & join the mainstream.
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) May 16, 2018
On Tuesday, a meeting in this connection was held at Visakhapatnam where the DGP and the BSF personnel of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, Special Operation Group (SOG) head of Odisha and the Greyhound force of the Andhra Pradesh government 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.
