At least two Maoists have been killed during a search and combing operation by a joint team of the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
According to preliminary reports, the encounter is underway in Odisha's Sundergarh District and further details are awaited.
In Odisha, the Maoists are dominant in the districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sundargarh and Nayagarh.
While the state's police force has claimed that left-wing extremism is gradually being brought under control, they admit that they still face a challenging situation in dealing with the menace in parts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Bolangir, Nuapada, Rayagada, Baragarh, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur Districts.
Currently, according to the state government and the state's police force, the Maoists have been trying to consolidate in the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Nuapada, Bolangir, Baragarh and Kalahandi.
The rebels are also trying to regroup and revive their activities in the Sambalpur-Deogarh-Sundargarh range as well as in the Kalinga Nagar Divisions by fresh induction of cadres,
The Odisha Government says that it has been focusing on capacity up gradation of security forces and the security infrastructure in the affected areas, strategic deployment of security forces to dominate the area and conduct effective operations against the armed Maoist formations, and precisely targeting important Maoist cadres / leaders by intelligence based operations.
The focus is also on seamless coordination with paramilitary forces deployed in the state and also with the Maoist-affected neighbouring states and also with the Centre to deal with the problem effectively.
