<p>Despite the state government’s tall claims on controlling the Maoists activities, naxal menace remained a major problem in Odisha throughout 2011. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The left wing ultras operating in the state, in fact, had a sensational beginning to the year as they kidnapped Malkangiri Collector R Vineel Krishna in February sending shockwaves across the country. This was the first time the Maoists managed to abduct a district collector.<br /><br />The Maoists had kidnapped the 2005 batch IAS officer along with a junior engineer Pabitra Majhi when he was on an official visit to an interior area of the backward southern district. Majhi was released early but it took nine long days for the state government to free the young Collector from the naxals’ captivity. He was set free only after the state government accepted certain conditions put forward by the rebels which include release of some of their colleagues.<br /><br />The Collector’s kidnapping and his subsequent release threw up several unanswered questions. And one among them was what prompted the young IAS officer to visit the interior pockets of the worst naxal hit district in the state without proper security and more importantly defying the guidelines set up by the state as well as union home ministries for the senior government officials working in Maoist hit areas.<br /><br />Leader killed<br /><br />Later in the year, suspected naxals performed another heinous act of crime when they killed Jagabandhu Majhi, the ruling Biju Janata Dal(BJD) MLA from Umarkote in tribal dominated Nowrangpur district in September. The young tribal leader was distributing land to the poor at an official function in his constituency when three youths riding a motor bike arrived at the meeting venue and shot dead Majhi and his personal security officer(PSO) from point blank range. The legislator had survived two attempts on his life earlier.<br /><br />This was for the first time since the beginning of the naxal problem in the state in early 1990s, the Maoists had been able to eliminate a sitting MLA. Immediately after the shocking murder, the state government had directed the crime branch police to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a report to the government as early as possible. However, the agency had not been able to crack the case by the end of the year.<br />Apart from these two major incidents, the state witnessed naxal violence in regular intervals throughout the year. <br /><br />After the senior Maoist leader Kishanji’s killing in neighbouring West Bengal in the second part of the year, naxals operating in different districts triggered a number of blasts, particularly targeting mobile telephone towers. The left ultras created a record of sort at the fag end of the year when they destroyed as many as six mobile towers on a single day. Half of these towers were located in Ganjam district, the home district of state chief minister Naveen Patnaik.<br /><br /> Despite the violence, the state also saw for the first time people defying the Maoists to vote in the by-elections of Umarkote assembly constituency. Paying no heed to Naxal warnings, a large number of voters thronged booths to cast their votes. <br />Similar defiance was seen when people disregarded the Maoists call for Band to protest Kishenji’s killing. <br /></p>
<p>Despite the state government’s tall claims on controlling the Maoists activities, naxal menace remained a major problem in Odisha throughout 2011. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The left wing ultras operating in the state, in fact, had a sensational beginning to the year as they kidnapped Malkangiri Collector R Vineel Krishna in February sending shockwaves across the country. This was the first time the Maoists managed to abduct a district collector.<br /><br />The Maoists had kidnapped the 2005 batch IAS officer along with a junior engineer Pabitra Majhi when he was on an official visit to an interior area of the backward southern district. Majhi was released early but it took nine long days for the state government to free the young Collector from the naxals’ captivity. He was set free only after the state government accepted certain conditions put forward by the rebels which include release of some of their colleagues.<br /><br />The Collector’s kidnapping and his subsequent release threw up several unanswered questions. And one among them was what prompted the young IAS officer to visit the interior pockets of the worst naxal hit district in the state without proper security and more importantly defying the guidelines set up by the state as well as union home ministries for the senior government officials working in Maoist hit areas.<br /><br />Leader killed<br /><br />Later in the year, suspected naxals performed another heinous act of crime when they killed Jagabandhu Majhi, the ruling Biju Janata Dal(BJD) MLA from Umarkote in tribal dominated Nowrangpur district in September. The young tribal leader was distributing land to the poor at an official function in his constituency when three youths riding a motor bike arrived at the meeting venue and shot dead Majhi and his personal security officer(PSO) from point blank range. The legislator had survived two attempts on his life earlier.<br /><br />This was for the first time since the beginning of the naxal problem in the state in early 1990s, the Maoists had been able to eliminate a sitting MLA. Immediately after the shocking murder, the state government had directed the crime branch police to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a report to the government as early as possible. However, the agency had not been able to crack the case by the end of the year.<br />Apart from these two major incidents, the state witnessed naxal violence in regular intervals throughout the year. <br /><br />After the senior Maoist leader Kishanji’s killing in neighbouring West Bengal in the second part of the year, naxals operating in different districts triggered a number of blasts, particularly targeting mobile telephone towers. The left ultras created a record of sort at the fag end of the year when they destroyed as many as six mobile towers on a single day. Half of these towers were located in Ganjam district, the home district of state chief minister Naveen Patnaik.<br /><br /> Despite the violence, the state also saw for the first time people defying the Maoists to vote in the by-elections of Umarkote assembly constituency. Paying no heed to Naxal warnings, a large number of voters thronged booths to cast their votes. <br />Similar defiance was seen when people disregarded the Maoists call for Band to protest Kishenji’s killing. <br /></p>