Odisha Director General of Police Y.B. Khurania visited Kandhamal district on Sunday as part of his routine tour.
He arrived by helicopter from Bhubaneswar at 10:10 AM and landed at the Reserve Police Ground in Madikunda, where South Range IG Niti Shekhar and Kandhamal SP Harish Bisi welcomed him.
Accompanied by ADGP Sanjeeb Panda and DIG Akhileshvar Singh, Khurania inaugurated an indoor sports complex at the police reserve. He later interacted with personnel from SOG, DVF, and CRPF, praising their role in combing operations and counter-insurgency efforts.
Security forces have intensified search operations in Kandhamal in recent months. Officials reported that 77 Maoists surrendered before Odisha Police, while 23 surrendered in Chhattisgarh. Additionally, 27 Maoists were neutralised in encounters. Khurania encouraged jawans who displayed courage in operations against Maoist leaders such as Ganesh and his associates.
The DGP announced that Maoist numbers in Odisha have fallen to single digits, with only one small group active in the Kandhamal-Rayagada-Kalahandi region. He urged them to surrender, warning that refusal would mean direct confrontation with security forces.
This success follows the surrender of Odisha’s most wanted Maoist leader, Kasha Sodi alias Sukru, on March 24–25 in Kandhamal. Sukru, 49, carried a bounty of Rs 55 lakh and was a state committee member of the KKBN division. His surrender, along with four others, is considered a major breakthrough in the state’s anti-Maoist campaign.
The session was attended by DIG Niti Shekhar, Commandant Manas Ranjan Panda of the 136 Battalion, BSF officer Ajay Kumar of the 21C unit, IGP Deepak Kumar, and SP Harish Bisi.
