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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.

The great survivor!

Ganesh Naik

Ganesh Naik is a great survivor literally and figuratively. Recently at an election rally, he said that ‘all his rivals are dead’. That is very true literally. Nevertheless, Naik has also shown great agility and has survived politically.


Born in the Bonkode village of Navi Mumbai on September 15, 1950 Ganesh Ramchandra Naik started off in the life as a union leader. Initially he led workers from some of the prominent factories in the TTC industrial belt. As the union grew and spread to other industrial belts across Raigad and Thane districts, he started wielding political power. The planned city of Navi Mumbai was in making which lifted him straight from the village panchayat level to the state assembly. Shiv Sena was the most popular party among the youth back then. So, he became the Shiv Sena MLA in 1990 and also became the leader of the party in the house after rebellion of 11 MLAs under the leadership of Chhagan Bhujbal.


However, his rivals within the party made him leave Shiv Sena in 1999 though he was a minister and showed a great command on the administration. He lost the assembly election. But, after a brief period when he floated his own party, he joined NCP and was inducted into the state cabinet. After sensing that he has no future in NCP, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019. However, before that he had developed a strong hold over the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), the two assembly constituencies in the city and the Lok Sabha constituency that extends from Navi Mumbai to Mira-Bhayandar. Naik family members occupied all the key posts of public representative from this region between 2000 and 2014.


Despite such a long and successful career, Naik faced controversies. He has been accused of cheating in two cases, and a woman claiming to be his live-in partner filed a more recent case of rape against him. The high court later quashed the case, and the complainant changed her statement, alleging that the case was politically motivated. But, the blot remains.


When he joined the BJP in 2019, his arch-rival Manda Mhatre had already been an MLA from the constituency that he had been being elected from. He had to leave the seat for her and he contested from his son’s constituency, Airoli. His elder son too didn’t get to contest Lok Sabha and his nephew couldn’t become Mayor of the city again. He still stayed with the BJP, but his son Sandeep, who was district BJP president, quit and is contesting from Belapur constituency as NCP(SP) candidate. Many feel that this is marks Naik’s backward journey to Sharad Pawar who had helped him stand again after being dejected by the Shiv Sena. Naik’s political journey has been marked by his ability to bounce back from setbacks.

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