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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.

Test In Navi Mumbai

Navi Mumbai

BJP’s Navi Mumbai district president Sandeep Naik joined the NCP (SP) in presence of state party Chief Jayant Patil on Tuesday. He will be contesting the Belapur assembly constituency as an NCP (SP) candidate now. His father Ganesh Naik, who is the BJP candidate from Airoli assembly constituency, had already made it clear that Sandeep is free to take his own decisions.


While leaving the party Sandeep blamed the BJP leadership of not keeping promises made to him while he joined the party in 2019. However, according to some of the close associates of the Naik family, the real reason behind the latest move is the Naik family’s desire to keep its hold on the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) intact.


Ganesh Naik had been an undisputed leader of Navi Mumbai for around 40 years now. He had been able to maintain control over the municipal corporation since 1995. His elder son Sanjeev was the first Mayor of the city. Between 2004 and 2014 Naik family held all the key posts of people’s representatives in the city like the two MLAs, an MP and the Mayor. In 2014 Ganesh Naik lost to Manda Mhatre, former NCP MLC who had by then switched to the BJP. Sandeep Naik, who had contested from Airoli had won back then and was the only representative of the Naik family who was holding any post as people’s representative between 2014 and 2019.


Ganesh Naik too eventually joined the BJP along with his supporters in the NMMC and the corporation too came under the BJP. According to Sandeep Naik, the BJP leadership had promised to give two assembly seats and a parliamentary seat in the family but didn’t keep the word.


In 2019, the BJP chose Manda Mhatre for the Belapur assembly constituency and she won with a thumping lead of 43,500 votes against a weak Congress candidate. BJP insiders say that the leading margin won her the party ticket for the constituency this time also.


For the Naik family is important to hold both the assembly seats in the city to be able to keep control over the city municipal corporation, where the elections are likely to happen sometime early next year. That is the reason whey Sandeep Naik had started preparing to contest assembly from Belapur for past some time. Since he didn’t get the BJP ticket from the constituency, he shall now do so from the NCP (SP). If he wins, the family’s hold on the corporation will remain intact.

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