BHUBANESWAR: With the Centre’s deadline to eliminate Left-wing extremism (LWE) by March 31 inching closer, Maoist dumps in their erstwhile strongholds are barely left with stock of arms and ammunition, the state police said on Monday after recovering one such cache.
ADG Anti-Naxal Operations, Sanjeeb Panda a depleting stock has led to significant decline in the influence of the Red rebels in the state.
Panda’s statement came a day after two Naxals including a woman were neutralised during an exchange of fire with the security forces in Nandabali reserved forest area of Kandhamal district.
Initial investigation revealed that the slain Maoists were Jagesh and Ratna, both of whom belonged to a platoon of Kalahandi-Kandhamal-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division, led by special zonal committee member Sukru. Jagesh was deputy commander of the military platoon while Ratna was a member.
During the operation, police recovered one AK-47 fitted with an under barrel grenade launcher (UBGL), six UBGL grenades, one 7.62 mm self-loading rifle (SLR) with magazines and a large quantity of ammunition from the encounter site.
Jagesh was carrying a cash reward of Rs 22 lakh and Ratna Rs 1.65 lakh. The weapons AK-47, SLR and UBGL carried cash rewards of Rs 3.30 lakh, Rs 1.65 lakh and Rs 44,000 respectively. The two were reportedly involved in a series of violent attacks in Kandhamal district in the last five years.
Police said the Maoist dumps do not have significant number of weapons and explosives anymore. “In the past, these dumps were strategically placed for use during ambushes and allowed the insurgents to operate without constantly transporting heavy equipment, making them vital for guerrilla tactics,” they said.
However, the cache of materials in existing Maoist dumps are presently limited to solar chargers for VHF sets, torches and mobile phones, batteries, clothes, rice and currency notes.
“Efforts are on to trace and destroy these dumps to further weaken the Maoist capabilities,” police said.
Not just their weapons, even the number of Maoists operating in the state is rapidly declining. Sources said there are only about 30 insurgents in Odisha of which maximum are women members.
“We have information that many women members want to lay down their arms but the senior male cadres are stopping them from doing so. Attempts are being made to ensure the women cadres surrender soon,” Panda said.
A massive combing and search operation has been launched in and around the encounter spot to trace other members of the group and ensure full domination of the area. “Odisha Police remains fully committed to Centre’s deadline of ending Naxalism by March 31. Anti-Naxal operations will be intensified to restore lasting peace in Kandhamal and other affected districts,” he added.