Maoists on Sunday night ambushed Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel and killed a jawan and injured several others in a forest at Khamanakhol in Kandhamal district.
DGP KB Singh and Southern Range IG Amitabh Thakur visited the spot on Monday. Singh said the morale of the jawans is high, and a befitting reply would be given to the Red rebels. Singh also said the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was followed during the anti-Maoist drive.
He also visited the hospital and interacted with the injured jawans. The six injured SOG jawans were rushed to the Baliguda hospital and he MKCG Medical College Hospital in Brahmapur.
Though the SOG jawans were taken by surprise by the attack on them, they retaliated and fired more than 300 rounds, after which the Maoists fled, said Kandhamal SP Pinaki Mishra.
The martyred jawan was identified as laxmikant Jani of Kalahandi district. Among the critically injured are HN Tamang, S Orange and vehicle driver Niranjan Behera.
Home Secretary Asit Tripathy said that anti-Maoist operations were on in Kandhamal and Kalahandi and that the State Government would give a fitting reply to the Maoists for their attack.
Tripathy further said the martyr’s family would get his salary and his son or daughter would be given a Government job. However, office-bearers of the Odisha Police, OSAP Havildar Constable and Sepoys Confederation (OPOHCSC) demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of the deceased and partial compensation and free treatment for the injured jawans. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condemned the attack on SOG jawans by Maoists. He twitted, “Condemn cowardly attack on security personnel in Kandhamal. DGP @odisha_police is on the spot. Sacrifice of our jawan will not go in vain.”