Ahead of a March 31 deadline at the Center for the Elimination of Left-Wing Extremism, once described as the country’s most serious internal security threat, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police Siva Shankar Nayak reflects on the past decade of his life – marred by encounters with Naxals.
Deployed in several anti-Naxal operations in Odisha, now posted at Malkangiri district police station, Mr. Nayak has won six police medals for gallantry, including the President’s Police Medal.
But the honor didn’t come without a cost, he said. “My wife and daughter spent countless sleepless nights. Every time I returned home at odd hours after an encounter or a brief escape during anti-nax operations, I saw their relief,” Mr. Nayak recalled.
Subrat Majhi (name changed) is still planning anti-Naxal operations long after years of active struggle. In over two decades with the Odisha Police, he too has won six gallantry medals. Anonymity, he said, focused his attention on the fight against the Red Rebels.
Inside the Maoist stronghold
After joining as constables, they were among the first groups to train with the Greyhounds, India’s first dedicated anti-Naxal unit spun out of the police force in undivided Andhra Pradesh. They later became part of Odisha’s own special operations group.
Bordering Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh and not far from Telangana, Malkangiri remained a stronghold of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) for years. Swabhiman Anchal, formerly a “cut off area” surrounded by water on three sides and mountains and forests on the fourth, was their stronghold.
Senior officers barely entered the district in uniform. They often came in civilian clothes and swapped two or three hired vehicles to escape the Maoists’ formidable ground intelligence network.
“Between 2005 and 2015, no one in the armed forces felt safe,” Mr Majhi said. “We walked 70 km in teams of three groups of about 24 people each, including walking hills in four days. Death could strike at any moment in those ambushes. The extremists were well trained,” the officer said.
He added that the standing instruction was simple: trust no one, not even villagers or bystanders. “Teams circled villages, keeping their distance and avoiding even dogs. A single bark could set off a chain reaction, alerting Maoist ‘sympathizers’ and jeopardizing the mission. The rebels then enjoyed deep village support while militias were everywhere. Communication with families was almost impossible without mobile phone networks. Sometimes a message from a satellite phone, terse and coded, would comfort Mr Majhi alive.
A complete shave
Mr. Nayak escaped death more than once. In 2008, a landmine explosion tore apart a police vehicle, killing 17 people in front of them. “We were on motorbikes. Immediately after the explosion, the Maoist cadres opened fire from vantage points they had already secured. It was like a battlefield. We retaliated and pushed them back,” he recalled. Rumors quickly spread that he was among the dead. His family rushed to the scene fearing the worst.
Every anti-Naxal operation begins with a precise role briefing, officers tell The Hindu. Upon return, teams undergo debriefings to evaluate performance and “acts of individual bravery under fire.” Names are then recommended for bravery medals accordingly.
Nearly 800 Naxal cadres were once believed to be active in nearly half of Odisha’s 30 districts. Today, their numbers have dwindled to fewer than 40, with most of their leaders removed, according to officials. Odisha also served as a key transit corridor for CPI (Maoist) cadres who, under constant pressure in Andhra Pradesh, used the route to move towards Chhattisgarh. To counter the insurgency, central units such as the Central Reserve Police Force and the Border Security Force were deployed in the affected areas along with Odisha Police.
While there have been cases of alleged excesses by security personnel during patrolling and rule exercises in Maoist-affected areas, the extremist groups, officials said, have often amplified these cases or leveled allegations against security forces to “deepen mistrust between villagers and the police”.
Built trust with local residents
Both Mr. Nayak and Mr. Majhi noted that alongside sustained security operations against insurgents, efforts have increasingly focused on building trust with local communities. This strategic shift in the second half of the decade played a key role in weakening Maoist influence and restoring confidence in the administration, they added.
Published – 25 Feb 2026 01:13 IST
