Koraput district declared Naxal-free
Bhubaneswar: A hardcore underground woman cadre of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation on Thursday surrendered before the Koraput police. The surrendered woman Maoist, identified as Mamata Podiami alias Mamita and Soni, is a resident of Bijapur district in neighbouring Chhattisgarh. She was an ACM (Area Committee Member)-ranked cadre of the CPI (Maoist).
With the surrender of Mamata, the Odisha Police on Thursday declared Koraput district, one of the worst-affected districts of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in the State, as Naxal-free. The surrender took place in the presence of senior officials of the Odisha Police and the Border Security Force at Jeypore in Koraput.
During the surrender, the ACM cadre of CPI (Maoist) also laid down one SLR along with 10 live rounds of ammunition. “A day after Malkangiri district was declared Naxal-free, we are today declaring Koraput district Naxal-free following the surrender,” said Kanwar Vishal Singh, DIG, South Western Range, Koraput.
Mamata was also involved in many incidents of exchange of fire, anti-government and anti-national activities in the bordering areas of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, whose verification is going on.
Speaking to mediapersons, the DIG further stated that as per the Odisha government’s rehabilitation policy, the surrendered woman ACM cadre Maoist will get Rs 5.50 lakh, another Rs 1.65 lakh for surrendering along with the SLR rifle, along with several other financial and related rewards.
On Wednesday, hardcore ACM-rank CPI (Maoist) cadre, Sukhram Markam alias Suresh and Yogesh, of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh, surrendered before the Malkangiri Police. “This surrender of the operational and ideological CPI (Maoist) leader marks a final blow to CPI (Maoist) cadres in Malkangiri, making the Malkangiri district Naxal-free,” the Malkangiri Police had announced.
In December last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had announced that Odisha stands at the threshold of becoming completely free from LWE. The government is resolvedto eliminate LWE from the country before March 31, 2026.