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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.

Dependable Cong face Chavan’s loss sends shock waive

Prithviraj Chavan

Mumbai: The defeat of Congress veteran and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in the Assembly polls in his home district Karad has come as a shock and big setback for him in his decades long political career.


One of the most educated lawmakers in the state, Chavan's career saw him becoming the chief minister of the state and also a Union minister.


Known for his clean and non-controversial image, Chavan, 78, took over as the state's chief minister when the Congress was battling allegations of corruption 2010.


When Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently campaigned in Karad South assembly seat, he quipped that Chavan was a politician of international standard and a misfit in the state Vidhan Sabha.


To the shock and surprise of even Chavan's critics, the senior leader lost the seat to BJP's Atul Bhosale by nearly 40,000 votes in the state poll results announced on Saturday.


The defeat is a new low for Chavan personally as well as the Congress, which suffered the worst ever-defeat bagging only 16 seats in the 288-member state assembly.


A graduate in mechanical engineering from BITS Pilani and doing his masters from the University of California, Berkeley, Chavan worked in the US aerospace industry as a research engineer for four year before taking up politics full time in 1991.


In India, he founded a company to develop defence electronic equipment and special purpose computers for air defence, missile control, ASW (anti-submarine warfare), aircraft testing equipment and made significant contributions to research in the field of Indian language computing.


His father and Congress leader Dajisaheb Chavan had served in the cabinets of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi.


His mother Premla Chavan, popularly known as Premla kaki (aunt), was a three-term Congress MP before her death in 1991.


Prithviraj Chavan started his career in 1991 winning the then Karad seat, which had been held by his parents. He later also won the seat in 1996 and 1998 but lost in 1999.


In 2010, the Congress moved him to Mumbai to replace Ashok Chavan, who had to quit as the CM following a controversy over the Adarsh housing scam.

Prithviraj Chavan became an MLC after taking over as the CM and since 2014, he was MLA from the Karad South seat.


The Coastal Road in Mumbai and the Navi Mumbai international airport were conceptualised by him as chief minister.


An honorary visiting professor at BITS Pilani and a member of the council of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Prithviraj Chavan was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002 and again in 2008.

 

In 2004, Prithviraj Chavan served as minister of state in the PMO.


He was member of the Atomic Energy Commission and Space Commission from 2004 to 2010. In 2008, he was given additional charge of  the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions, and the ministry of parliamentary affairs.


In 2009, he was elevated to the rank of MoS with independent charge of the ministry of science and technology, and the ministry of earth sciences in addition to his earlier responsibilities.


Cong's performance shocking: Chavan

Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday said his party's defeat was "shocking" and dubbed it as the "worst-ever" loss in the state assembly polls.


Talking to PTI, Chavan said the Mahayuti government's Ladki Bahin Yojana, for providing financial assistance to women, clicked with voters in rural areas while polarisation hit the opposition MVA’s prospects in urban parts of the state.


"It is difficult to say whether there was a wave or tampering," said Chavan, who lost from his Karad South seat.


Chavan said he had spoken to All India Congress Committee in-charge for Maharashtra Ramesh Chennithala, who has left for Delhi to discuss the state results with the Congress leadership.

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