with the killing of three forest officials in Orissa's Kandhar forests in Dhenkanal district triggering panic over the past fortnight, forest officials in the state are queuing up for voluntary retirement from their services.

The forest officials were reportedly killed by Naxals in the last week of January. The Naxals had also detained two field assistants of the Orissa Forest Development Corporation and threatened to target other personnel.

Immediately after the incident, 28 employees from the Dhenkanal forest division submitted their applications to the state government by January 31