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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.

Old Foes, New Alliances

Updated: Oct 25, 2024

BJP

The shifting sands in Konkan’s electoral battlefield are seeing a number of former friends turn foes while yesterday’s enemies have become newfangled partners in marriages of political convenience. Nilesh Rane, ex-MP and son of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narayan Rane, announced his decision to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and contest from the Kudal Assembly seat in the upcoming state elections.


The Kudal Assembly segment is currently held by the Rane clan’s long-time rival, Vaibhav Naik, who is from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).


Ex-Maharashtra CM Narayan Rane, once a Shiv Sena strongman, and later Congressman, was the unchallenged king of his fiefdom of Kudal, being its legislator for six terms. However, when in the Congress, he was trounced comprehensively by Vaibhav Naik (in the undivided Shiv Sena) in the 2014 Assembly elections by a margin of more than 10,000 votes in a result that ultimately led to a Sena renascence in the Konkan region.


Now, with the Shiv Sena split vertically, Nilesh’s joining the Eknath Shinde-led Sena will give him an opportunity not just to politically rehabilitate himself but avenge his father’s defeat as well.

In the past, Rane’s fallouts with his former aides-turned-nemesis - Rajan Teli and Ravindra Phatak, and bête noire Deepak Kesarkar, had undercut his hold over the Konkan region.


Today, in a twist owing to political expediency, Kesarkar, who joined CM Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena after his revolt split Uddhav Thackeray’s undivided Sena, is now aligned with the BJP, placing him and Rane on the same side. Kesarkar, an erstwhile bete noire of Rane, is now banking on the latter’s support to retain his hold on the Sawantwadi Assembly segment, also part of the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency as Rane is the incumbent MP.


In the 2019 Assembly poll, Rane, who had just joined the BJP, had strained every sinew to beat candidates of the undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray in the 14 Assembly segments in three districts of the Konkan. However, his efforts had come a cropper as the undivided Shiv Sena had effortlessly retained its strongholds, winning nine of 14 segments. At the time, Deepak Kesarkar beat independent candidate Rajan Teli, a close Rane aide, by 13,228 votes in Sawantwadi.


Today, in a supreme irony, Kesarkar – Rane’s foe-turned-friend – is likely to face BJP leader Rajan Teli, once Rane’s protégé, who recently joined Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT).


Adding to the byzantine political twists in this region is Kiran Samant, who is from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and has been fielded as the Mahayuti’s candidate for the Rajapur Assembly segment, also part of the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency.


At the time of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP, after much delay, had finally announced Union Minister Rane as the ruling Mahayuti coalition’s candidate for the contentious Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat, to the intense chagrin of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which had staked its claim over the seat.


Kiran Samant, brother of Shinde camp Minister Uday Samant, had been eagerly vying for a ticket and was believed to be on the verge of rebellion. However, Kiran had taken a step back and ended up supporting Rane for the Lok Sabha.


He is now banking on Rane’s support for the Assembly election as quid pro quo. The clock is ticking to November 20, and the Konkan has never been more rife with intrigue.

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