Bhubaneswar: With the recent jolt on left wing extremism after seven Maoists were gunned down by Odisha Police on May 13 and 14, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today appealed the ultras to drop weapons and join the mainstream society.
Patnaik took to Twitter and stated that there is no place for violence in a democratic setup and it is now crucial that the extremists should surrender their arms and join the mainstream.
The Chief Minister expressed that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated him on the success achieved by the Odisha Police in tackling the left wing extremism threat.
"Union Home Minister Shri @rajnathsingh called me & congratulated @odisha_police on its stupendous success in anti-Maoist operations in #Odisha. In democracy there is no place for violence. I appeal to them to drop weapons & join the mainstream," Naveen wrote in his post.
Earlier on Tuesday, Director General of Police RP Sharma, after meeting with his counterpart in Andhra Pradesh, had informed that both Odisha and the neighbour state would jointly launch anti-Maoist operations to flush out the rebels by strengthening intelligence network in Koraput, Nuapada, Malkangiri, Kalahandi and Rayagada districts.
In a major victory for the State Police, seven Maoists including two women cadres were killed in encounters and a huge cache of explosives seized at separate encounters in Bolangir and Kandhamal on Sunday.
While four members of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) were killed in Kandhamal , two cadres of the banned outfit were shot dead in Bolangir.
Similarly, security forces gunned down a Divisional Committee Member (DCM) of Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh division at Sudukumpa reserve forest of Kandhamal later on Monday.