TV
Gajapati district police, on Wednesday, arrested Pratap Nayak, a government primary school teacher at Nuakhajuripada under Adava police limits, over allegations of involvement in Maoist activities.
According to sources, Nayak had been serving as a teacher since 2008 and was named in two separate warrants issued in connection with incidents of Maoist violence in 2011 and 2013.
Police Investigation And Court Proceedings
The police confirmed that investigations into the earlier cases revealed Nayak’s alleged links to the Maoist groups operating in the region.
Following Nayak’s arrest, he has been formally produced before the court. Authorities are continuing to gather evidence to ensure thorough prosecution under relevant sections of the law.
Teacher’s Background And Local Response
Residents and colleagues described Nayak as a long-serving educator in the Adava area. Despite his professional role, the police said preliminary investigations pointed to his association with extremist elements during the past incidents.
Local authorities added that the arrest is part of an ongoing effort to curb Maoist influence and ensure law and order in the Gajapati district.
Maoist Violence Spikes In August
Earlier this month, a railway employee was killed, and another critically injured in an IED explosion triggered by Maoists between Karampada in Jharkhand and Renjeda in Odisha along the Bimalagarh section.
The blast, occurring during the Maoists’ Shaheed Saptah observations, destroyed part of the railway track. The deceased, identified as keyman Itua Oram, died on the spot, while the injured employee was shifted to Rourkela.
Following the incident, joint security operations intensified along the Odisha-Jharkhand border, with combing and search operations in the dense Saranda forest by Odisha Police, Jharkhand Police, CRPF, and Jharkhand Jaguars.
