Bhubaneswar, Aug. 20: Odisha police and paramilitary forces are set to intensify their joint operation against the Maoists in all the districts hit by left-wing insurgency.

Sources said that while the Border Security Force (BSF) was on the alert in Malkangiri and Koraput, the two districts worst-affected by the Maoist problem, CRPF jawans have already stepped up patrolling in large parts of western and southern Odisha.

“We saw how a sustained operation in Saranda forests on the Sundergarh-Jharkhand border paid dividends. The same strategy has to be adopted in other areas known for Maoist insurgency,” said a senior police officer.

He added that coordination between the Odisha police and the paramilitary forces was improving.

This is good news considering that in the past, there were constant complaints about lack of understanding between the central troops, especially the BSF and the Odisha police.

The problem was most acute in Malkangiri, where the local police force resented the allegedly domineering behaviour of the BSF men. What the policemen resented most was the practical capture of their police stations by the paramilitary forces.

However, sources said the relations between the paramilitary men and the state police have been on the mend since the visit of senior BSF and CRPF officials from Delhi and other parts of the country to the camps of the troopers in the state’s Red zone. These officials also had meetings with the state police brass and top bureaucrats in Bhubaneswar to set things right.

Senior police officials said the arrest and killing of senior Maoist leaders in the last few months was the outcome of this improved coordination between the police and central forces. Their latest success comes in the form of killing of Maoist commander, Kadraka Teli alias Rajendra in Bedamatur forests of Koraput district on Sunday following an encounter. Kadraka, a tribal, led the Jhanjahabati division of the rebels.

“If things continue in this way, we can hope to arrest even Maoist leaders such as Sabyasachi Panda, who till recently was the secretary of the Odisha organising committee of the Maoists. He has been expelled from the party and is now on his own. With a little effort we can nab him,” said a senior police officer.

Members of the paramilitary forces who expect better cooperation from the local tribal people in the area where they have been deployed also share his optimism.

In certain areas of Koraput and Malkangiri the local populace, disenchanted with Maoist violence, is beginning to co-operate with the central forces.