Odisha Counts 40 Active Maoists, Steps Up Final Push Before March 2026 Deadline

Overview

• Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told the Assembly that roughly 40 Maoists now operate in small groups across parts of Kalahandi, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Boudh, Balangir and Bargarh.
• Officials said activity is largely confined to the Kalahandi–Kandhamal–Rayagada tri-junction, with smaller bands in the Gandhamardan Hills spanning Balangir and Bargarh.
• Only Kandhamal remains in the Centre’s Security Related Expenditure list as an ‘Other LWE Affected District’, while eight former hotspots are now tagged ‘Legacy & Thrust’.
• Deployments include 71 CAPF companies, 44 SOG teams, 839 DVF personnel, 40 IRB platoons, 29 Special Security Battalion platoons and over 92 Odisha Special Striking Force platoons, supported by drones and interceptors.
• Two Maoists, including an Area Committee member, were killed in a February 22 encounter in Kandhamal, prompting intensive combing in the Nandabadi jungle, as the state also pushes a revised surrender scheme that has preceded 45 surrenders since November.