Prakash Mishra

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 2: The state government will follow a two-pronged strategy with equal focus on development and coercive action to contain Maoist violence.

Home secretary Vipin Saxena outlined the strategy at Koraput today during a review of the security situation in the district where four BSF jawans were killed on Tuesday in a landmine blast by the rebels.

Saxena, who was accompanied by director-general of police Prakash Mishra, held elaborate discussions with senior police officers, paramilitary and civil administration officials at the office of the south-western range DIG at Koraput.

Apart from the collectors and superintendents of police of Koraput, Nabrangpur, Malkangiri and Rayagada districts, inspector general (operations) Soumendra Priyadarshi, BSF inspector general A.K. Sharma and deputy inspector general (south-western range) Debdutta Singh were present at the meet.

Mishra admitted that the killing of the BSF jawans was a setback, but said there was no lack of co-ordination among the forces engaged in Maoist operation. Asserting that last week’s incident in Koraput’s Sunki valley had nothing to do with the operational strategy of the forces, Mishra, however, expressed hope that such violence would not recur.

The landmine blast in the Sunki valley on August 17 occurred when 18 BSF jawans in three vans had been on their way to Vishakhapatnam from Koraput. Their destination was Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

The Maoists, who were hiding in the hills flanking the valley, targeted the convoy. While the first two vans passed safely, the last one was blown up by a landmine planted below a culvert in the valley.

The police suspect involvement of the rebels from Andhra Pradesh in the incident.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had reviewed the security situation in the Maoist belt in the immediate wake of the incident and directed Saxena and Mishra to visit Koraput for an assessment of the ground realities. The blast in the Sunkey valley was the second incident of BSF jawans being targeted by the rebels in southern Odisha. Last year, four of them were killed in an ambush by the Left wing extremists at Balimela in Malkangiri adjoining Koraput.

Maoist activities have been on the rise in the state with rebels trying to expand their base in districts such as Koraput and Malkangiri while making forays into new areas such as Balangir and Kalahandi.