SAMBALPUR: Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) YB Khurania on Thursday visited Sambalpur to review the security preparations for the upcoming festivals including Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti.
Khurania held a meeting with all the SPs of the Northern range and took stock of the law and order situation in the region. With Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti around the corner, he discussed security measures to ensure peaceful celebration of the festivals.
Addressing mediapersons after the review meeting, the DGP said there was a time when 21 districts of Odisha were affected by Maoist menace. The number has now come down to seven.
“Acting on the direction of the union home minister, we are working towards completely eradicating Naxalism by March 2026. All necessary efforts are being made in this direction. Anti-Maoist operations are underway in the Northern range. Intensive combing operations are also being carried out in the bordering areas of Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.”
Khurania further said anti-Naxal operations are being conducted frequently on basis of intelligence inputs and these have yielded significant successes. “Recently, a joint operation with Chhattisgarh police in Nuapada’s Garibandh led to elimination of a central committee Maoist member and two others. The Odisha SOG played a pivotal role in this operation,” he said.
Appealing to the Maoists to return to the mainstream, the DGP urged them to surrender and reintegrate into the society. He also stressed the importance of maintaining law and order and highlighted Odisha government’s attractive surrender policy.
Khurania arrived in Sambalpur on a one-day trip on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, he visited Samaleswari temple and offered prayers to the presiding deity. He later awarded the DGP’s disc to several officers in recognition of their service.