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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.

From 'A Sam Shi' to 'use and throw', Uddhav and Shinde factions get creative in bitter war of words

  • PTI
  • Apr 6
  • 2 min read

ree

Mumbai: The acrimonious fight between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has moved on to a phase of creativity in wordplay with abbreviations being used to lampoon each other.


Over the past few days, Uddhav Thackeray and his son and former minister Aaditya Thackeray have begun calling Shinde "A Sam Shi", which is the abbreviation of the deputy CM's full name Eknath Sambhaji Shinde.


Since the split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party in June 2022, the Thackeray faction has often used the terms "gaddar" (traitor) and "khoke" (alleging that crores changed hands to split the party) to mount stinging attacks on Shinde.


Shinde has hit back asking if UT, the abbreviation for Uddhav Thackeray, stood for "use and throw".


A party functionary said Uddhav Thackeray's fresh jibe at Shinde was aimed at the latter using Sena founder Bal Thackeray as the party mascot.


"He (Shinde) should use his father's name and form his own party rather than stake claim over Bal Thackeray's legacy and party," the functionary said.


Post the split, Shinde's faction got the Shiv Sena name and 'bow and arrow' symbol, while the one led by Thackeray was christened Shiv Sena (UBT) with its symbol being "mashaal" or flaming torch.


Another party leader said the Thackeray family has its own way to target its bitter opponents, be it former chief minister Narayan Rane or NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal.


Both were firebrand leaders who enjoyed immense confidence of Bal Thackeray.


But after they quit the party, Bal Thackeray gave them sarcastic monikers that have stuck for long time.


"It is the Thackeray family's way of telling their opponents that they are not worthy of being addressed respectfully by their full and proper names," the leader said.


Shinde has also often used the term "work from home" to lampoon Thackeray.


As chief minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022, Thackeray came under fire from the opposition as well as his allies for running the government from his Matoshri residence rather than Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai.

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