500 paramilitary forces withdrawn from Orissa’s Kandhamal

September 28th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Three people were detained in Orissa's Kandhamal district for their alleged role in a crude bomb blast Sunday, police said Monday. A man was killed and two people sustained injuries when the bomb they were carrying exploded in Nandagiri village, 56 km from the district headquarters of Phulbani.

September 27th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - A man was killed and two people sustained injuries when a crude bomb they were carrying exploded in a village in Orissa's Kandhamal district Sunday, police said. The bomb exploded in one of the tents at Nandagiri village, 56 km from the district headquarters of Phulbani, where dozens of victims of last year's communal riots have taken shelter, police said.

July 21st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday blamed the central government for not helping the state in countering the Maoists effectively. "There is not enough central assistance to counter the Naxalites (Maoists) in our state effectively," Patnaik said replying to an adjournment motion moved by the opposition in the state assembly on growing Maoist activities in the state.

July 4th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Conceding Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's demand, the central government has extended the deployment of its paramilitary forces for two more weeks in the state's Kandhamal district, which witnessed communal riots last year, an official said here Saturday. The central government had Wednesday withdrawn from the region four companies of central paramilitary forces - the last of the central forces posted there to maintain peace.

July 3rd, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has opposed the withdrawal of central forces from Kandhamal district, which witnessed communal riots last year, and demanded their re-deployment to ensure peace in the region, officials here said Friday. Patnaik has requested the central government to re-deploy the forces till the situation becomes completely normal," a senior official of the chief minister's office told IANS.

July 1st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Four companies of central paramilitary forces posted in Orissa's Kandhamal district following communal violence last year were withdrawn Wednesday, an official said. They were the last of the central forces posted there to keep the peace.

May 16th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - A candidate accused of involvement in last year's anti-Christian riots in Orissa has won the assembly elections, official said. Manoj Pradhan, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, won from the Udayagiri constituency in Kandhamal district.

April 20th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The election in Orissa's troubled Kandhamal district went off peacefully last week, but state authorities want the central forces deployed in the communally-sensitive region to stay on for a while longer, officials said Monday. The central government wants to withdraw the 45 companies of paramilitary forces, including the forces deployed in Kandhamal after the communal riots last year.

March 25th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - A woman Maoist rebel was Tuesday killed by security forces in a gunbattle in Orissa's Kandhamal district, an official said. Getting information that a group of Maoists had gathered in the forest near Daringbadi area of the district for a meeting, police and special operations group personnel raided the area.

March 1st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Authorities in Orissa's riot-hit Kandhamal district have sought additional central forces to ensure that the upcoming assembly and Lok Sabha elections are conducted smoothly, an official said Sunday. 'We have informed the state government that we need about 12 additional companies of central paramilitary forces during the elections,' district collector Krishan Kumar told IANS.

March 1st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Authorities in Orissa's Kandhamal district, which witnessed communal violence last year, have sought additional central forces to ensure the smooth conduct of the upcoming assembly and Lok Sabha elections, an official said Sunday. 'We have informed the state government that we need about 12 additional companies of central paramilitary forces during the elections,' district collector Krishan Kumar told IANS.

January 14th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Christian leaders in Orissa Thursday voiced resentment over the withdrawal of security forces from Kandhamal district that had witnessed a wave of anti-Christian violence, saying that normalcy has not yet returned to the region. 'Christians are not feeling safe.

January 14th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - At least seven companies of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), comprising 700 personnel, were withdrawn Thursday from Orissa's Kandhamal district that had witnessed communal violence last year, an official said. 'The CRPF companies were deployed in areas such as Belghar, Baliguda, Pabingia, Mandashore and Katingia.

January 12th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Over 4,000 personnel of central forces deployed in Orissa's Kandhamal district in the aftermath of communal violence will be withdrawn in phases, an official said Tuesday. The central government has directed the state to initiate the withdrawal of forces from Thursday (Jan 15), Home Secretary A.P.

December 26th, 2008 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa may seek an extension of the deployment of central forces in the communally sensitive Kandhamal district as authorities feel there are still undercurrents of tension prevailing in some remote areas. 'We need the presence of central forces for some more time as complete normalcy is yet to be restored in interior pockets,' a police officer in Kandhamal told IANS Saturday on condition of anonymity.