Bhubaneswar: At least seven security personnel and 21 left wing extremists (LWEs) have been killed and 87 of them surrendered before police in 2013 till November end, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Monday.
Patnaik told the Assembly that the highest number of four BSF personnel were killed in an ambush in Koraput district, while 13 Maoists were gunned down in Malkangiri district.
Besides Malkangiri, Maoists were also killed in five other districts. Four of them were gunned down in Rayagada district and one each were killed in Koraput, Bolangir, Baragarh and Gajapati districts.
Of the 87 ultras who surrendered this year, 65 came from Malkangiri district, followed by 9 in Koraput district and five in Rayagada district, Patnaik said. Two others surrendered in Nabarangpur, while one each surrendered in Kandhamal, Gajapati, Sundergarh, Keonjhar, Sambalpur and Dhenkanal.
Only Nayagarh, Jajpur and Dhenkanal had remained free from Maoist violence and influence this year, said Patnaik, who also holds the Home portfolio, adding that six other districts - Gajapati, Ganjam, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Deogarh and Sundergarh- were not considered as free from the menace in view of movement and activities of the ultras.
