Odisha: Three CRPF personnel killed in Maoist attack

Senior officials of Odisha police said jawans of the 216 battalion of CRPF were engaged in a road opening exercise near Bhaisadani village under Boden police station area of Nuapada district

Updated on: Jun 22, 2022, 05:24:37 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Three Central Police Reserve Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in an ambush by Maoists in a village bordering Gariabandh district of Chhattisgarh during a road opening exercise on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The Nuapada ambush was the highest casualty suffered by personnel of central paramilitary forces in Odisha in the last four-and-a-half years

Senior officials of Odisha police said jawans of the 216 battalion of CRPF were engaged in a road opening exercise near Bhaisadani village under Boden police station area of Nuapada district when they came under fire just 1.5 km from a new security forces camp at Patadhara.

“There was fierce exchange of fire between CRPF and Maoists. Combing operation has been intensified in the area. Operation would continue till the Maoists are flushed out,” said inspector general of police(anti-Maoist ops) Amitabh Thakur. Around 10-12 rounds were fired by Maoists on the CRPF jawans.

The deceased personnel were identified as assistant sub-inspector Sishupal Singh (Aligarh, UP), assistant sub-inspector Shivlal (Mahendragarh, Haryana) and constable Mahendra Kumar Singh(Rohtas, Bihar). The state government announced ex-gratia of ₹20 lakh for the next of the kin of the each deceased.

Deputy inspector general of police(south-western range) Rajesh Pandit said the road opening party of the CRPF had started foot patrol from 7.30 am. “After it started raining, the jawans took cover under a polythene. The jawans were then ambushed by the Maoists,” said Pandit.

The Nuapada ambush was the highest casualty suffered by personnel of central paramilitary forces in Odisha in the last four-and-a-half years. In January 2016, two Border Security Force personnel were killed in IED blast in Koraput district.

The highest toll among security forces from a Maoist attack in the state was reported in February 2017, when 8 jawans of Odisha State Armed Police died in a landmine blast at Sunki ghat of Koraput district.

Several Maoist cadres have surrendered since two policement of the anti-Maoist force special operations group were killed in an encounter on the Kalahandi-Kandhamal border.

In September last year, Dubashi Shankar alias Mahendra, a member of Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee with a bounty of ₹20 lakh on his head was arrested from the Boipariguda block of Koraput district.

Though there have not been many incidences of Maoist violence in Nuapada unlike Malkangiri, Koraput and Kandhamal districts, it remains an important route for the CPI (Maoist) as they find a dense forest region at the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.

In January this year, a joint team of CRPF and Odisha police had busted a Maoist camp in Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary of the district and seized several explosives including mortar shells.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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