Bhubaneswar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday felicitated senior officers of the Odisha Police for their outstanding contribution in successfully making the state Naxal-free on March 31, 2026.The felicitation ceremony was held at the Badal Academy Ground in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh.
DGP Yogesh Bahadur Khurania and ADG (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sanjeeb Panda received mementos from Amit Shah on behalf of the entire Odisha Police force. Shah also honoured several other key officers including IG (Operations) Deepak Kumar, DIG (SWR) Akhileshvar Singh, Kandhamal SP Harisha B C, DSP Santosh Sahu, DSP Sudesh Kumar Bal and others for their exemplary contribution in the anti-Naxal operations.
Odisha Police, in close coordination with Central Armed Police Forces such as CRPF, BSF and SSB, achieved a historic milestone by ridding the state of the long-standing Maoist threat. Between 2025 and 2026, the force neutralized 156 Maoist cadres through encounters, arrests, and surrenders.
Notably, 78 cadres, including several senior leaders, surrendered in Odisha itself. During this period, joint operations eliminated 10 Maoists in Odisha and 17 in Chhattisgarh, including two top Central Committee members — Chalapathi and Ganesh Uike.
ADG (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sanjeeb Panda said the Maoist outfit has completely collapsed in Odisha, with no fresh cadre recruitment taking place. He added that specialised units like the Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force, along with CRPF and BSF, will continue to remain deployed for at least two more years to prevent any possible resurgence.
According to police sources, the last surviving eight to nine Maoist foot soldiers, who had taken shelter in the forests of Kandhamal even after the state was declared Naxal-free, are now suspected to have fled to Kerala in search of jobs. Odisha Police have shared their details and photographs with Kerala Police and alerted railway police as a precautionary measure. Despite this development, combing operations and intelligence gathering continue in the Kandhamal forests. Retrieving arms looted by the Maoists remains a top priority for the force.
The Union Home Minister praised the determination and coordinated efforts of the Odisha Police during the event, which was also attended by police officers from other Naxal-affected states including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar.
