Naveen seeks more CRPF battalions

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, Feb 2: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has sought deployment of two more battalions of Central Reserve Police Force to contain Maoists in Nuapada and Malkangiri districts of Odisha.In a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday, Patnaik stressed the need for deployment of two more additional battalions of CRPF in view of the deployment of additional Central forces in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.“It is learnt that additional battalions of Central Armed Police Force are likely to be inducted in Chhattisgarh soon.This is likely to cause further cross border movement of armed Maoist groups into Odisha from the Chhattisgarh side,” said Patnaik in his letter to Singh.“In this event, deployment of more security forces will become absolutely necessary in Odisha-Chhattisgarh border to counter the cross border movement of Maoists into Odisha side,” Patnaik said.The present deployment of forces in Nuapada district is inadequate to dominate the area, conduct meaningful operations and restrict the movement of Maoists, Patnaik said to justify his demand.Besides, there is a need to augment the presence of security forces in Malkangiri district to effectively dominate the Maoist strongholds and to conduct sustained anti-Maoist operations, he added.“In this scenario, two additional Battalions of Central Armed Police Force are urgently required for supplementing the deployment in Nuapada and Malkangiri districts across Chhattisgarh border and for conducting meaningful anti-Maoist operations in the new areas of Maoist activity,” the Chief Minister said in his two-page letter to Singh.