Bhubaneswar: The last surviving Maoist foot soldiers, limited to only eight or nine, who had reportedly taken refuge in Kandhamal’s forests even after Odisha was declared “Naxal-free” on March 31 are now suspected to have fled to Kerala in search of jobs, according to Odisha police sources.“We have shared their details and photographs with our Kerala counterparts and alerted railway police, anticipating sightings during train travel,” a senior police officer told TOI.Despite the suspected exodus, Odisha police continue combing operations in Kandhamal forests, and maintain active intelligence networks. The state police have already announced that anti-Maoist deployments will remain in place for at least two more years. “Our specialised units — special operations group and district voluntary force, along with CRPF and BSF personnel — will stay deployed to prevent any resurgence,” said ADG (anti-Naxal operations) Sanjeeb Panda, adding the CPI(Maoist) outfit has “completely collapsed” in Odisha, with no fresh cadre recruitment reported. “Between 2025 and 2026, we removed 156 cadres through encounters, arrests and surrenders. Of them, 78 — including senior leaders — surrendered in Odisha, while 42 laid down arms in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,” he said.During this period, joint operations eliminated 10 Maoists in Odisha and 17 in Chhattisgarh, including two top central committee members, Chalapathi and Ganesh Uike.“Our prime focus now is to ensure that the arms looted by the Maoists are retrieved. We are confident of achieving this target soon. The Union ministry of home affairs has also prioritised the backtracking of these weapons,” ADG Panda said.Police sources said that of the 1,540 sophisticated arms stolen by the Maoists in Odisha, 965 (nearly 63%) have already been retrieved.In 2025, nine districts — Koraput, Malkangiri, Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Bargarh and Balangir — were under Maoist influence. Between Jan 19 and March 25 this year, eight of them, barring Kandhamal, were declared free of Maoist violence.Earlier intelligence had indicated the presence of the lower-rung Maoists in Kandhamal. However, human intelligence and technical surveillance confirm no Maoist presence in Kandhamal or elsewhere in Odisha, police sources said, adding the remaining Reds lack leadership, manpower, logistics and local support. Two are believed to have sustained bullet injuries in a recent encounter in Kandhamal.With Odisha now officially Maoist-free, the state has already discontinued its surrender and rehabilitation policy for those who refused to lay down arms.
