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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.

Bhoomiputras’ Leaders

Updated: Nov 7, 2024

Bhoomiputras

In the seaside town of Alibaug which buzzes with high-end resorts and bungalows of the rich and the famous, is the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) that champions the cause of the not-so-privileged. This left-leaning party has seen three generations of the Patil family holding top positions and is now set for a member of the fourth generation to make her electoral debut. Siblings Meenakshi, Subhash and Jayant Patil, have made the PWP a well-recognised name as Meenakshi held ministerial portfolios and Jayant has been a member of the legislative council for several years. Their grandfather Narayan Patil or Nanasaheb was among the founding members of the PWP which was formed in 1948. He had led the famous Thari Satyagrah which championed the rights of landless farm labourers against the might of feudal landlords.


Their uncle, Dattatray Patil, was an MLA and has served a leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly between 1987 and 1990.


Locally known as the ‘first family’ of the PWP, the Patils have, for long, wielded considerable political and electoral influence over Alibaug, matching the popularity of the various political dynasties that control cooperatives and educational empires in the state. While the party tried to position itself as an anti-Congress, anti-right-wing force, it has joined hands with the Congress and was part of the Shiv Sena-BJP government in 1995.


Meenakshi was a member of the legislative assembly from Alibaug from 1995 and also held the position of a minister of state for ports and fisheries in Vilasrao Deshmukh’s government in 1999. Her brother Jayant has been an MLC since 2002 until he lost the elections to the upper house of the Maharashtra legislature this year. The family’s political influence has been strong despite the party not having too many legislators. Jayant has courted controversy several times; in 2015, a farmer had accused him of land grab and the anti-corruption bureau had launched a probe into his assets; he had heckled Shahrukh Khan for allegedly delaying the departure of the ferry and in 2019, was accused by a journalist for slapping him without any provocation. His brother Subhash Patil has also been an MLA from Alibaug.


Jayant Patil’s 37-year-old daughter-in-law Chitralekha made her electoral debut by filing her nomination for the assembly elections from Alibaug. She made news when she cycled to to file her nomination.

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