Panchayat Polls: Odisha DGP Reviews Security In Koraput, Malkangiri

Koraput: Odisha DGP Sunil Kumar Bansal on Friday visited the Maoist-hit Koraput and Malkangiri districts to review security arrangements for the upcoming panchayat polls.

Bansal along with Special DG SAP, Director Intelligence, and IG BSF held a meeting in Koraput with senior officials of Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, DIG (South Western Range) and SP (Koraput).

The DGP, who landed at the HAL helipad in Sunabeda, reviewed the Maoist situation and security preparations for the polls. Bansal also discussed the poll arrangements in Kotia, where Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are locked in a border dispute.

The DGP then left for Malkangiri, where he visited the BSF’s Hantalguda Camp in Swabhiman Anchal and also interacted with villagers.

Swabhiman Anchal was once a Maoist hotbed but has now been completely retaken by security forces and is charting a development path. Free of Maoist control, polls are being held in the place after years.

Bansal said that drones will be deployed in Swabhiman Anchal during the elections. If required, helicopters will also be pressed into service, he added, while urging Maoists to join the mainstream.