District Voluntary Force | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | DVF |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 2009 |
Employees | 500 |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Odisha, India |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India |
Parent agency | Odisha Police |
Data for organisation as at December 2011 |
District Voluntary Force (DVF) is a special constabulary unit of the Odisha Police. They are primarily used in anti-Maoist operations. It was formed in 2009. [1]
Odisha has 500 personnel under the DVF. They do not wear special lapels or badges. 40% are recruited from former Special Operation Group (SOG) agents, as they retire after 35; and rest from the local police who speak the local dialects and know the terrain. They work in groups of 8–10. Some of them gather information and other carry out operations. They don't require the approval of Superintendent of Police for operations, unlike the SOG. However, for bigger operations, SOG is sent to avoid casualties, as DVF lacks the training. DVF agents have 30% higher salary than the local police. [1]
In January 2011, the state government announced that they would increase the number of DVF personnel. The number of district with DVF units would be increased from 11 to 17. [2]
In early March 2014, a DVF team killed two Maoist in Koraput district. [3] In mid-May 2014, Purna Huluka (alias Khatru) was shot dead by a DVF team in Koraput district. He had a bounty of ₹ 100,000 on his head. [4]
In mid-September 2014, a DVF team killed a wanted Maoist leader, Erra Madkami (alias Sundhi Dalei), in Malkangiri district. Madkami had a ₹ 400,000 bounty on his head. [5] In late December 2014, acting on a tip-off a joint team of DVF and SOG raided a Maoist hideout and captured two Maoists in Sambalpur district. [6]
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Marxist–Leninist–Maoist banned communist political party and militant organization in India which aims to overthrow the "semi-colonial and semi-feudal Indian state" through protracted people's war. It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War (People's War Group) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI). The party has been designated as a terrorist organisation in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act since 2009.
Koraput district is a district of India in southern Odisha, with headquarters at Koraput. The district is located in the Eastern Ghats and is known for its hilly terrain, rich and diverse types of mineral deposits and its tribal culture and traditions. The district headquarters town of Koraput and its largest city, Jeypore are major centres of trade and commerce for South Odisha and fall on an important road connecting Visakhapatnam to Raipur.
Malkangiri, historically known as Malikamardhangiri, is a town and municipality in Malkangiri district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarter of the Malkangiri district. Malkangiri has been the new home of the East Bengali refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan, who have been rehabilitated since 1965 under the Dandakaranya Project. Some Sri Lankan Tamil refugees were also rehabilitated in the town, following the armed struggle of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the early 1990s, although most of them have now returned to their country. Currently, it is one of the most naxalite-affected areas of the state, and is a part of the Red Corridor.
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