ROURKELA: Amid a visible decline in Maoist activities in Sundargarh side of the Odisha-Jharkhand border, the process to move out the headquarters of 19th CRPF Battalion from Rourkela is underway.
It is only a matter of time before the 19th CRPF Bn is shifted to Nuapada almost 17 years since it was established in Rourkela in 2008. Seven companies of the battalion have already been relocated from Sundargarh.
With this, the responsibility of watching Naxal movement in bordering areas of the erstwhile Maoist-hit pockets of Sundargarh rests solely on the Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) under the disposal of Rourkela police.
Sources said at least six police stations in Bonai sub-division of Sundargarh along with those in bordering Bisra, Lathikata and parts of Bondamunda under Rourkela police were worst affected by left wing extremism (LWE) activities originating from the adjacent Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.
However, from 2018 onwards, there was a gradual drop in Maoist violence on Sundargarh side of the border with the rebels using the connecting forest stretch in the district as temporary hideouts or transit purposes to skirt attention of Rourkela police.
Incidentally, the vast Saranda forest spread over 820 sq km used to be the Eastern Regional Bureau of the banned outfit, commanding multiple eastern states.
Those privy with Naxal operations along the Odisha-Jharkhand border said huge deployment of CRPF and other para-military police forces in Saranda, Porahat and other continuous forest stretches in West Singhbhum for nearly 14 years has been instrumental in curbing the Maoist activities.
Moreover, the arrest of ageing Maoist leader and Politburo member Prashant Bose alias Kishan da by Jharkhand police in November 2021 created a leadership vacuum in Saranda region.
As of now, CRPF’s 26th Bn, 60th Bn, 197th Bn, 174th Bn, 193th Bn and 134th Bn along with 203rd and 209th CoBRA Bns have permanent camps at more than a dozen of strategic locations in Saranda and connecting forests of West Singhbhum.
Though there were disturbing incidents of Maoist violence in West Singhbhum during 2024, the security forces appear to have the upper hand which perhaps has instilled confidence in Odisha police and the Central government to shift the 19th CRPF Bn from Rourkela to elsewhere, said the sources.
While a section of people think Maoists may regroup in Sundargarh to create future problems taking advantage of the absence of CRPF, Rourkela police said its striking capability and ground intelligence have increased manifold to handle any situation independently.
Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani said police along with the SOG and DVF personnel are effectively manning the bordering pockets and capable of handling any Maoist threat.
