Bhubaneswar. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told the state Assembly that 123 Naxalites were killed while 11 security personnel were martyred in encounters in different parts of the state since 2014. In a written reply to a question by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Prashant Kumar Jagdev, Chief Minister Majhi said that from January 1, 2014 to November 15, 2024, 219 encounters took place in the state. He said that 123 Naxalites were killed and 11 security personnel were martyred in these encounters. According to the statement, a maximum of 36 Naxalites were killed in police encounters in the year 2016, while 19 Naxalites were killed in 2018, 16 in 2020 and three in 2023.
He said that in 2017, 2021 and 2022, seven Naxalites each were killed in encounters with security forces, while in the encounters of 2014, 2015 and 2019, six, nine and eight Naxalites were killed respectively. Majhi said that during the current year (till November 15), security forces in the state killed five Naxalites. He said that out of the 11 security personnel who were martyred during the firing during this period, three each in the year 2015 and 2022, two security personnel lost their lives in 2020, while one security personnel each was martyred in the year 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Majhi said that there is no report of martyrdom of any security personnel in the remaining years – 2014, 2018, 2021, 2023 and 2024 (till November 15). The Chief Minister in his reply also said that during the last 11 years, 336 Naxalites in the state surrendered and returned to the mainstream. He said that following the call of the Union Home Minister to eliminate Naxalites from the country by 2026, the State Government has taken several steps to eradicate Naxalites from the state within the stipulated time frame.
The Chief Minister said that adequate security personnel have been deployed in Naxalism affected areas. He told the House that to strengthen the state police for anti-Naxal operations, the state government has approved the formation of three units of the new Odisha Special Striking Force (OSSF) with retired army personnel. He told the House that the recruitment process has been started. Apart from this, immediate steps are being taken to fill various vacant posts in the state police department, he said.
Disclaimer: Prabhasakshi has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
