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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Gadchiroli SP declares Maoist menace ‘almost over’

Mumbai: In a resounding statement signalling a historic shift, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Neelotpal has declared the district, once the dark heart of the ‘Red Corridor,’ is on the verge of becoming completely free of the Naxal menace. The SP expressed absolute confidence in the complete eradication of the banned CPI (Maoist) presence, noting that the remaining cadres have dwindled to a mere handful. “There has been a sea change in the situation,” SP Neelotpal stated,...

Gadchiroli SP declares Maoist menace ‘almost over’

Mumbai: In a resounding statement signalling a historic shift, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Neelotpal has declared the district, once the dark heart of the ‘Red Corridor,’ is on the verge of becoming completely free of the Naxal menace. The SP expressed absolute confidence in the complete eradication of the banned CPI (Maoist) presence, noting that the remaining cadres have dwindled to a mere handful. “There has been a sea change in the situation,” SP Neelotpal stated, highlighting the dramatic turnaround. He revealed that from approximately 100 Maoist cadres on record in January 2024, the number has plummeted to barely 10 individuals whose movements are now confined to a very small pocket of the Bhamragad sub-division in South Gadchiroli, near the Chhattisgarh border. “North Gadchiroli is now free of Maoism. The Maoists have to surrender and join the mainstream or face police action... there is no other option.” The SP attributes this success to a meticulously executed multi-pronged strategy encompassing intensified anti-Maoist operations, a robust Civic Action Programme, and the effective utilisation of Maharashtra’s attractive surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy. The Gadchiroli Police, especially the elite C-60 commandos, have achieved significant operational milestones. In the last three years alone, they have neutralised 43 hardcore Maoists and achieved a 100 per cent success rate in operations without police casualties for nearly five years. SP Neelotpal highlighted that the security forces have aggressively moved to close the “security vacuum,” which was once an estimated 3,000 square kilometres of unpoliced territory used by Maoists for training and transit. The establishment of eight new police camps/Forward Operating Bases (FoBs) since January 2023, including in the remote Abujhmad foothills, has been crucial in securing these areas permanently. Winning Hearts, Minds The Civic Action Programme has been deemed a “game changer” by the SP. Through schemes like ‘Police Dadalora Khidaki’ and ‘Project Udaan’, the police have transformed remote outposts into service delivery centres, providing essential government services and employment opportunities. This sustained outreach has successfully countered Maoist propaganda and, most critically, resulted in zero Maoist recruitment from Gadchiroli for the last few years. Surrender Wave The state’s progressive rehabilitation policy has seen a massive influx of surrenders. “One sentiment is common among all the surrendered cadres: that the movement has ended, it has lost public support, and without public support, no movement can sustain,” the SP noted. The surrender of key figures, notably that of Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias ‘Bhupathi,’ a CPI (Maoist) Politburo member, and his wife Sangeeta, was a “landmark development” that triggered a surrender wave. Since June 2024, over 126 Maoists have surrendered. The rehabilitation program offers land, housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and employment. Surrendered cadres are receiving skill training and are successfully transitioning into normal life, with around 70 already employed in the local Lloyds plant. A District Reborn The transformation of Gadchiroli is now moving beyond security concerns. With the decline of extremism, the district is rapidly moving towards development and normalcy. The implementation of development schemes, round-the-clock electricity, water supply, mobile towers, and new infrastructure like roads and bridges is being given top priority. He concludes that the police’s focus is now shifting from an anti-Maoist offensive to routine law-and-order policing, addressing new challenges like industrialisation, theft, and traffic management. With the Maoist movement in “complete disarray” and major strongholds like the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Special Zone collapsing, the SP is highly optimistic. Gadchiroli is not just getting rid of the Naxal menace; it is embracing its future as a developing, peaceful district, well on track to meet the central government’s goal of eradicating Naxalism by March 31, 2026.

A Sugar Pill from Sugar Belt

harshavardhan patil

In politics, they say, there are no permanent friends or enemies and this saying is best defined by harshavardhan patil, the former minister who switched parties on the eve of the 2019 elections and now, weeks before the state goes to the polls on November 20. He has travelled across parties, starting out as an independent candidate in 1995 from his home turf Indapur, was a minister for water conservation in the Shiv Sena-BJP government between 1995 and 1999 and continued his winning spree as an independent until 2004. He joined the Congress to contest the 2009 polls as the party’s candidate and held the cabinet portfolios for parliamentary affairs and the all-important cooperative department until the Congress-NCP lost power in 2014. But with his warm and affable nature, he’s known to have friends and cordial relations across parties.


Unable to secure a nomination in the 2019 elections from the Congress which was then in alliance with the undivided NCP, Patil accused the NCP of betraying him and switched to the BJP, claiming to have faith in Narendra Modi’s vision. While he contested the 2019 polls as a BJP candidate, he lost to the NCP’s Dattatrey Bharne. He went into political wilderness since then, unable to secure a nomination to the upper house of the Maharashtra legislature. In early 2024, Patil was elected as the president of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories and has been working on resolving the issues of the sugar industry. With a good hold over his home turf, a deep understanding of the cooperative sector and a close network in the constituency, Patil had an eye on contesting the 2024 polls. With the new alliance arrangement, the BJP had to concede the seat to Ajit Pawar, prompting Patil to quickly switch over to the party, the NCP (SP), that he had accused of betrayal only five years ago. But his reach and influence over the cooperatives in Indapur could prove to be an asset to any party, a reason he was warmly welcomed into the fold despite opposite from the local rank and file of the NCP (SP).


Patil’s daughter Ankita is seen as his political heir. Director of the Indian Sugar Mills Association, she entered politics and is a member of the Zilla Parishad in Pune. Days before her father quit the BJP, Ankita resigned from the party. She is married to Bal Thackeray’s older grandson Nihar.


His departure never ruffles feathers for too long given his friendly personality. He is only known to have an uneasy rapport with Ajit Pawar while they competed for political one upmanship of Indapur, which falls within the Baramati Parliamentary constituency.


It is said that during these Lok Sabha elections, Patil offered his tacit support to Supriya Sule while the incumbent legislator moved with Ajit Pawar. Patil has been rewarded for his support with a nomination to the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.

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