Nayagarh attack embarrasses Orissa government
coordinated attacks by Naxalites in Nayagarh, killing 13 police personnel and a civilian, on February 15 clearly caught the Orissa administration and security forces unawares. That the strikes took place just 100 km from state capital, Bhubaneswar, and the rebels decamped with a large cache of ammunition, was further embarrassment for the Navin Patnaik government.
The policemen put up a brave fight in the gunbattle that began around 10:45 pm and lasted nearly an hour-and-a-half, but they were clearly outnumbered by the 400-odd rebels who, it is now suspected, had travelled to Nayagarh from neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Though there were reports of three Naxalites also being killed in the encounters, no bodies have been recovered.
Eighteen of Orissa's 30 districts are supposed to be