BHUBANESWAR : Odisha police’s precise intelligence inputs, quick dispatch as well as strategic positioning of three teams of the Special Operations Group (SOG) along with a high-resolution drone deployment provided crucial assistance to Chhattisgarh Police in the major anti-Naxal operation in which at least 14 red ultras were killed in last 24 hours.
Sources said Odisha Police had received actionable intelligence on January 18 regarding the movement of a group of over 25 Maoists in neighbouring Chhattisgarh’s Kularighat reserve forest area in Gariaband district, which is only five km away from Nuapada border.
Nuapada and Gariaband SPs Gundala Reddy Raghavendra and Nikhil Ashok Kumar Rakhecha respectively, both from of 2019 batch, held detailed discussions before launching the significant anti-Naxal operation on Sunday night (January 19). Sources said three teams of SOG with operational names - SOG 21, 40 and 44 were already camping in Nuapada district and continuously carrying out area domination exercises.
Nuapada & Gariaband SPs prepped the assault
Usually, each team of SOG camps in a particular district for a minimum of three to four months.
The three SOG teams having 24 personnel each were prepared to be dispatched and engaged immediately in the joint operation, which witnessed the involvement of Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA).
On Sunday, SOG teams were accompanied by two teams of Chhattisgarh Police’s E-30 Force and five teams of CRPF. A fierce gun battle ensued between the Maoists and the security personnel later in the night and bodies of two women ultras were recovered along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition on Monday morning.
Sources said Nuapada SP Gundala Reddy and district intelligence operation cell officers continuously monitored the high voltage police action against the Naxals.
Apart from carrying out combing operation on ground zero, Odisha Police took the aerial survey by deploying an advanced drone, having a range of up to 15 km and worth about Rs 1.5 crore, to get a bird’s eye view.
Police noticed the movement of Naxals on Monday night which was not far from the spot where the two women rebels were earlier neutralised. The security personnel then launched a controlled firing and recovered the body of Jayram alias Chalapathi, a member of the Maoists’ central committee, carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore.
Sources informed that CRPF too deployed its own drone. So far, security forces have recovered bodies of nine male and four female members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist). One SOG jawan sustained injury during the exchange of fire. He was rushed to a hospital and is out of danger.
“It was a major joint operation and huge cache of arms and ammunition including IEDs, one self-loading rifle and INSAS rifle each, two .303 rifles, four magazines, eight country made weapons, 10 live rounds and other incriminating articles were seized,” said DGP, YB Khurania.