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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.

Deshmukh becomes Centre of election campaign

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Accused on corruption and money laundering and fresh on the heels of a jail term, Anil Deshmukh could become a talking point for the two alliances this election.

Anil Deshmukh

Mumbai: Literature and art join the electioneering bandwagon this month to score a point or attack the opponent. If Dharmaveer 2 is expected to shore up support for the Eknath Shinde camp, Anil Deshmukh’s upcoming book, Diary of A Home Minister has the potential of a becoming a political potboiler as he heaps accusations of bullying and coercion against Devendra Fadnavis.


The issue erupted in July this year when the former home minister made serious charges against Fadnavis for allegedly coercing the former home minister to file cases against other leaders of the MVA. Fadnavis, predictably, denied those, and instead accused Deshmukh of speaking out against his own boss, Sharad Pawar and alliance partner Uddhav Thackeray.


The two sides have traded serious barbs against each other since Deshmukh was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in December 2022. On one side are charges of deeply entrenched corruption while on the other, are charges of coercion and what can be described, in simple terms, as blackmail.


While the BJP launched a high-pitched campaign against Deshmukh when he had to step down as the home minister on the heels of a controversy, the NCP (SP) man had, earlier this year, accused Fadnavis of coercing him into filing false cases against MVA leaders, including Aditya Thackeray, in exchange for avoiding a jail term or withdrawal of charges against him.


With Deshmukh announcing his book that details these allegations, the man could become a key point for the two sides to clash on. For the MVA, he is an example of the devious ways and the alleged abuse of the investigation agencies against non-BJP politicians while for the Mahayuti, he is the poster boy of corruption during the MVA regime between 2019 and June 2022.


In 2021, Deshmukh had found himself at the centre of a massive controversy in which former Mumbai police commissioner Parambir Singh had accused Deshmukh of directing police officers to collect money from hotel and bar owners with a target of Rs 100 crore per month. Following these charges, Deshmukh had stepped down as Maharashtra’s home minister, He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case in November 2021 and then by the Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, in a corruption case in April 2022. He was in prison for 14 months before he was granted bail by the Bombay High Court.


In July this year, Deshmukh had made scandalous charges against Fadnavis, stating that a man by the name of Samit Kadam, had approached him at Fadnavis’s behest with an offer to ‘help’ him if only he would file charges against certain leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT). The NCP (SP) leader had even claimed to have a pen drive which contained evidence about the allegations he made against Fadnavis. Countering him, Fadnavis had denied these allegations and said that he had several audio-video clips of Deshmukh’s remarks against Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar.


As the elections near and accusations fly, Deshmukh could well find himself at the centre of a volatile campaign between the two sides.

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