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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.

Sharad Pawar puts up a fierce fight

In a departure from his usual ways, Sharad Pawar came down heavily on those who betrayed him and split the NCP that he had founded, taking the fight into the BJP’s home.


Sharad Pawar

Mumbai: As electioneering enters the final phase, Sharad Pawar’s public rebuke of those who betrayed him and split his party, comes as a surprise to many. In the past year and a half, the patriarch of the NCP (SP) has not publicly condemned his former colleagues too often. Neither is he known to use intemperate language against his opponents, particularly the BJP. Even when BJP leaders called him a ‘bhatakti atma’ just before the Lok Sabha polls, Pawar only had a humourous retort. But this time, the angry statesmen has taken the fight to the people, almost as if urging the people to choose the right from the wrong.


In Yeola, Pawar came down heavily on Chhagan Bhujbal, remaking that he had “crossed all limits” and had betrayed not just him but also Bal Thackeray earlier and exhorted the voters to shun such as person. Dilip Walse Patil, a former close colleague who shared warm relations with the Pawar family, wasn’t spared either. Pawar ruefully remarked that he, too, had betrayed him. The hurt was evident. But the burning desire to upstage these leaders at the ballot box was there for all to see.


A party leader explains that Pawar’s decision was to consolidate his gains in a few constituencies where the NCP (SP) enjoys a good base. And this is in the rural belt of Maharashtra. The seats secured by the NCP (SP) are crucial for the party which sees the sugar and milk belt of western Maharashtra as its bastion from the early days of Pawar’s political career. He’s balanced the caste equations well; bringing in candidates with high “winnability” and also rewarding those who are loyal, while keeping an eye on the caste combination. Sandeep Kshirsagar is a stellar example—the young OBC leader has been fielded from Beed which is seeing widespread Maratha agitation. He’s been a loyal to the party and is being groomed as the NCP (SP)’s OBC face with Bhujbal’s departure. “It makes it all the more important for Pawar to criticise and expose Bhujbal. It makes way for people to recognise others,” says the party worker.


Rural Maharashtra is where the party has set its sights. Even as the MVA formed the government in 2019, the undivided NCP bagged the maximum number and the most influential portfolios in the cabinet. The NCP had taken 12 cabinet positions with portfolios linked to rural politics such as water resources, cooperation and rural development, apart from the key home and finance departments.


There are two days of active campaigning left and Pawar has zipped across the state, combing through every other constituency of rural Maharashtra especially Marathwada and Western Maharashtra. At 84, he declared that he will grow old only once the government changes. The state has barely seen a fighter as fierce as him.

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