By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, July 20, 2022: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday claimed that the overall law and order situation in Odisha was peaceful and relatively free from any form of communal discord.

“The overall law and order situation in Odisha is by and large peaceful. The state has been relatively free from any form of communal discord,” Patnaik said.

During a discussion in the assembly, Patnaik said elections to panchayat, civic bodies and different co-operative societies in the state were conducted peacefully.

He said the overall intensity of Maoist violence has come down in the state, with panchayat polls being conducted sans any incident in Maoist-affected areas and high voter turnout despite efforts by red rebels to hinder the poll process.

The chief minister underlined that strengthening police machinery in terms of human resources and infrastructure had been the priority of the government.

Several institutional mechanisms such as integrated anti-human trafficking units and investigation units for crime against women have been formed.

“All women-related heinous crimes are being treated as ‘red-flag cases’, and special public prosecutors are engaged for these cases,” he said.

Dedicated police stations for cybercrime and economic offences have been created. Prisons development board has been constituted in order to improve and modernise the infrastructural facilities in jails, Patnaik added.