By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR/MALKANGIRI: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and State Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy has all praise for security men manning the highly leftwing insurgency hit south-western police range. With able DGP Abhay’s able leadership backed by timely inputs from Director Intelligence, RK Sharma, the hyper active , IGP(Operations) Amitabh Thakur missing no stone unturned to utilise the operational skills of SOG DIG Anirudha Singh and SWR DIG Shefeen K Ahamed and that of Malkangiri SP, Rishikesh Khilari
“Congratulate @odisha_police for advancing to Panasput/Gurasetu in Swabhiman Anchal, a Maoist stronghold. The successful reclamation of left wing heartland will reassure people of the region and facilitate accelerated socio-economic development,” CMO Odisha tweeted @CMO_Odisha.
·
“During a joint interstate operation of Odisha Police, BSF & AP Police in Swabhiman Anchal, a major Maoists dump of arms & ammunitions including 02 SLR & one .303 rifles has been unearthed based on credible intelligence input. This has also enabled setting up of Gurasethu BSF COB,” SP Malkangiri tweeted @spmalkangiri. “In continuation of the special focus on Swabhiman Anchal, starting with the opening up of Gurupriya Sethu, this is another step in restoring normalcy in this area. This will further the peaceful development of this area,” the SP said.
Sources said Forces have recovered arms and ammunition from the camp, the police said on 3 October.The seized items included two Self-Loading Rifles (SLR), one .303 rifle, one improvised explosive device (IED), nine 7.62 SLR rounds, magazines and several documents, Police said.
“We are suspecting that these arms and ammunition belonged to the Maoists cadres of Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) and they were intended to be used against innocent civilians and security forces,” the Malkangiri SP Khilari said. “This operation has enabled setting up of Gurasethu BSF Company Operating Base (COB) in the heartland of the erstwhile cut-off area,” police said. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in July 2018 inaugurated a Gurupriya Bridge over a river in the cut-off area and gave it a new name – Swabhiman Anchal. Around 150 villages are there in the region.
