Odisha Police Felicitated by Amit Shah as India Achieves Naxal-Free Milestone
Bhubaneswar/Jagdalpur: Senior officers from Odisha Police were recently felicitated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their pivotal role in eradicating Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) from the state, at Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district.
Addressing a special function at Badal Academy Ground, Shah presented mementos to Odisha DGP Y B Khurania and ADG (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sanjeeb Panda. He congratulated the force for successfully eliminating the Maoist threat as per the government’s aggressive timeline of March 31.
“I can declare with my head held high that India is now free of LWE. The pledge to create a Maoist-free India was taken on August 24, 2024, and this resolve has been fulfilled well before March 31,” Shah stated, highlighting the coordinated national effort that has dismantled the CPI(Maoist) network across affected states.
The event brought together police officers from multiple Maoist-affected states, including Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar, along with personnel from the CRPF, BSF, and SSB. Family members of LWE violence victims and local tribals from the Bastar region also attended, underscoring the human cost of the decades-long insurgency and the relief brought by its end.
Accepting the honour on behalf of the force, ADG Sanjeeb Panda expressed gratitude to the Union Home Minister and attributed the success to the sustained joint operations involving Odisha’s Special Operations Group (SOG), District Volunteer Force (DVF), Special Intelligence Wing (SIW), and central forces like the CRPF and BSF.
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.
Between January 2025 and March 2026, security forces neutralised around 27 Maoists in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, including two central committee members. A major joint operation in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district alone accounted for 17 ultras killed. During this period, nine Maoists were arrested in Odisha, while 78, including four state committee members, surrendered before the state police. Additionally, over 100 extremists linked to Odisha operations surrendered in neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
Broader government efforts, combining robust security operations, infrastructure development, and outreach in tribal areas, have drastically reduced LWE violence nationwide. Once spanning nearly 180 districts, the affected areas have shrunk significantly, with the “Red Corridor” largely dismantled.
While Odisha is now declared free of the Maoist menace, sources indicated that deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and specialised state units will continue for some time to guard against any potential resurgence.
