Bhubaneswar, July 20 (UNI) The Odisha police opened fire 23 times in 2021, according to a white paper of the home department tabled in the Odisha Assembly on Wednesday. However, the details of the firing incidents have not been mentioned in the paper. A total of 1,55,420 cognizable cases including 1394 murders, 552 dacoity, 2826 robbery, 5133 burglaries, 13,024 theft, 5138 swindling, 2220 rioting, 3327 rape, 10,983 motor vehicle accidents, and 1,10,823 miscellaneous cases were reported in the state in 2021. Out of the 1,55,420 cognizable offense cases, 1,49,232 cases were based on true incidents and charge sheets have been framed in 1,06,283 cases, it said. The state police, till December last, filed charge sheets in 658 murder cases, 1406 swindling cases, 2335 rape cases, and 1377 rioting cases. In the white paper, the state government said that the overall left-wing extremism scenario in the state remained well under control during the year. The intensity of CPI Maoist perpetrated violence declined, the cadre strength of Maoists dwindled, the area of influence of the banned outfit shrunk and the mass support base of the Maoists declined during the year, it said. Out of the 10 districts of the state presently affected by Maoist activities, the situation has improved in most of the areas including in Swabhiman Anchal of Malkangiri district and the Kalahandi-Rayagada-Kand- hamal axis due to pro-active security and administrative response. However, the situation remained challenging in a few pockets, it said.
A total of 28 Maoist-related incidents including 21 ex- changes of fire on police initiative were reported in the state during the year in which two civilians were killed and one security personnel attained martyrdom.
