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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.

Holding Fort in Raigad

Updated: Nov 7, 2024

Raigad

In the seaside region of Raigad, ‘musical chairs’ seems to be the preferred game by members of the Tatkare family. In a constituency once represented by former Maharashtra Chief Minister A R Antulay, brothers Sunil and Anil Tatkare are on two sides of the NCP, pitted against each other for political supremacy. If Sunil was appointed the state president of the Ajit Pawar faction when he pulled off a coup in 2023, older brother Anil joined the NCP (SP) earlier this year and was appointed its state vice president, after switching parties thrice in the past five years. The Tatkare family has spread its wings wide in the region—if Sunil is the member of parliament from Raigad, daughter Aditi is a minister in the state government while son Aniket is a member of the legislative council or an MLC. His brother Anil is a former MLC who occupied the position between 2010 and 2018, his son Avdhoot is a former member of the assembly from Shrivardhan. Such is the influence and spread of the family over the region of Raigad.


Sunil began his career as a government contractor and joined the Congress in the late 1980s and became an MLA from Shrivardhan in 1995, a constituency he won until 2014. In two decades, he also held the post of a minister for departments such as energy, finance, food and civil supplies. In 2014, his nephew Avdhoot won from Shrivardhan. Since 2019, Sunil has been a Member of Parliament from Raigad and is also a key member of the NCP. He was at the forefront during splitting the NCP, along with Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel. While the NCP (SP) charged him of anti-party activities, Patel appointed him as the state president of the NCP. In 2012, the BJP had accused him of involvement in a land scam.


The area, which sees high tourist footfall because of the Raigad Fort and other destinations, has seen little development over the years.


Sunil’s daughter Aditi began her political career as the president of the Raigad Zilla Parishad in 2017 and then in 2019, won the assembly elections from the constituency her father had represented for several years. She was made a minister of state in the MVA government and then became a minister, once again, in the Mahayuti government in 2023.


Anil and Avdhoot have switched parties often, starting with the NCP, moving to the Shiv Sena in 2019, then to the BJP in 2022 and now the father-son duo is in the NCP (SP).

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