BHUBANESWAR : Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday informed the Assembly that 118 Maoists have been killed by security forces in the state over the last 10 years.
In a written reply to a question from Kanhai Charan Danga (BJP), Majhi said in the past 10 years from 2015 to January 25, 2025, 118 CPI (Maoist) cadres were killed in action by security forces in the state. Besides, the Odisha police in a joint operation with its Chhattisgarh counterpart also neutralised 17 Maoists, including a central committee member.
The chief minister said during the period, 315 Maoists and persons involved in Naxal activities have been arrested, and 238 Maoists/militias have surrendered in the state. Various steps are being taken to make Odisha free from Maoist menace by 2026, he stated.
Majhi said 72 companies of central armed police force, 32 special security battalions, 35 special operation group (SOG) teams, about 600 district volunteer force (DVF) jawans, 75 platoons of India reserve battalion, and more than 350 Odisha special striking force personnel have been deployed in the Maoist-hit areas.
Security forces are continuing area domination operations in the affected areas on the basis of intelligence, he added. The chief minister said modern equipment like drones, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) interceptors, weapons and communication equipment along with anti-terrorism training are being provided to security forces deployed for anti-Maoist operations.
3,738 B’deshi infiltrators in state
Majhi informed the Assembly that a total of 3,738 Bangladeshi infiltrators have been found in the state so far. The highest number of 1,649 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were found in Kendrapara, followed by 1,112 in Jagatsinghpur, 655 in Malkangiri, 199 in Bhadrak, 106 in Nabarangpur and 17 in Bhubaneswar.
72 student suicides since 2020
Seventy-two students have ended their lives in government and private schools and colleges across Odisha from 2020 to February 28 this year. CM Majhi said that some of the identified causes behind the suicides were academic stress, depression related to exams and love affair, mental harassment, denial of phone usage in school hostel, misunderstanding with friends, domestic conflict and even homesickness and parental restrictions.