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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.

Fate of anti-rape bills in limbo

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Fate of anti-rape bills in limbo

The pitch is growing louder for stricter laws against rape as politicians and activists are demanding quick and effective justice even as three anti-rape bills await the President of India’s nod. On September 2, while West Bengal passed the Aparajita Bill, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) working president Supriya Sule staged a protest against the President’s delay in approving the Shakti Bill passed by the Maharashtra legislature in 2020.

It may seem ironical that at a time when cases of heinous sexual crimes against women are flooding the news every day, three anti-rape bills that seek strict punishment for the culprits are still awaiting approval from the President. The bills that need the President’s nod are the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill passed by West Bengal and the Disha and Shakti Bill

Shaken by the rape and murder of a young doctor Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the West Bengal Assembly, on September 3, 2024, passed the ‘Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024’ to amend provisions in existing laws to provide for stricter punishment for crimes against women and children.

While speaking in the Assembly, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: “Rape is a now a national shame. Let us come together for social reform which is needed to prevent rapes.”

The Bill tweaks section 64 in the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS) and enhances the jail term to the “remainder of that person’s natural life and fine, or with death”. Additionally, it adds that this fine shall be fair and reasonable to meet the victim’s medical expenses and rehabilitation costs. The Bengal Bill proposes death penalty for rape resulting in the victim’s death or causing her to be in a vegetative state, while the existing Section 66 of the BNS allows for 20 years jail term, life imprisonment, and death for such a crime. In the cases of gangrape, the Bill seeks to amend Section 70 of BNS, increasing the punishment from 20 years to life imprisonment and death for those convicted of gangrape. The Bengal legislation also toughens the punishments in child abuse cases as laid down by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The proposed legislation seeks to penalise printing or publishing of any matter relating to court proceedings without permission with a punishment of “imprisonment of three to five years and fine”. The Bill mandates that a probe and trial must be completed within 21 days, with a possible extension of up to 15 days. The extension must be justified by a senior police officer. Trials in all sex crimes and acid attacks must be completed within 30 days. The Aparajita Bill legislation also includes provisions for setting up special courts to hear sexual violence cases and task forces to investigate them.

The legislation, while moved by the ruling Trinamool Congress, was unanimously passed but requires President Droupadi Murmu’s assent before it can come into force.

However, this is not the first time that a state assembly had tried to seek President’s assent regarding an anti-rape bill. The Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill 2019 and Shakti Bill passed by Maharashtra in 2020, both introduced in India in the wake of high-profile cases of sexual violence against women, demanding strict punishment, are still awaiting a nod from the President.

Both bills mandate death penalty for certain offenses against women, such as rape and gang rape. Additionally, both bills provide for the establishment of special courts to handle cases of violence against women and children. While the Shakti Bill was largely modelled after the Disha Bill, there were some minor differences in the specific provisions and timelines for investigations and trials. “Politics is involved in delaying the approval for the bill as a lot of MPs in BJP are accused in rape cases. The BJP fears that if this bill gets implemented, the death penalty will also apply to them as well,” says Vidya Chavan, Chief Spokesperson of the NCP (SP).

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