Maoists train inside the forests in a file picture
Bhubaneswar: Odisha police on Sunday declared that Balangir and Bargarh districts, along with the Gandhamardan hills spanning the two regions, are now free from Naxal influence.The declaration followed the surrender of 15 Maoists, led by their 64-year-old leader Sudarshan alias Bikash, in neighbouring Chhattisgarh earlier in the day.IGP (northern range) Himanshu Lal, along with the SPs of Balangir and Bargarh, Abilash G, and Prahalad Meena were present during the surrender ceremony in Chhattisgarh.The Gandhamardan hills had been a stronghold of Maoist operations under Sudarshan, a senior member of the special zonal committee and head of the Balangir-Bargarh-Mahasamund (BBM) division. He carried a reward of Rs 55 lakh on his head. “We had mobilised full resources across the hills to foil Maoist plans. Sudarshan and his team were part of the BBM division. Their surrender has rendered the Gandhamardan hills as well as Balangir and Bargarh districts free of Naxal presence,” said IGP Lal.The BBM division had recently written a four-page letter to the Chhattisgarh government, expressing their willingness to join the mainstream. In the letter, the group requested suspension of operations in the Gandhamardan range, stating they were moving towards surrender.Since January, Odisha police had already declared Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Koraput, and Boudh districts free of Naxal activity after the last active cadres of the regions laid down arms.
