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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 Sule and Fadnavis Saga

Updated: Nov 15, 2024

the Sule and Fadnavis Saga

Mumbai: In the season of political fireworks and mudslinging, most other wars pale in the face of the war of words between Devendra Fadnavis and Supriya Sule. Barely two days ago, Fadnavis called Sharad Pawar the “owner of a fake narrative factory”, a statement that was condemned by the NCP (SP)’s top brass while Ajit Pawar maintained a “no personal remarks of Sharad Pawar” policy.


Only a week earlier, the NCP (SP)’s working president Sule had demanded Fadnavis’s resignation accusing him of treason for leaking confidential government files to Ajit Pawar. The file in question was the one which had orders for an investigation into Ajit for his alleged role in a multi-crore irrigation scam. The controversy was raked up by Ajit himself when he accused former home minister of the NCP, R R Patil for signing on this file supposedly to get Ajit into trouble. “A case should be filed against Fadnavis and he should resign. This is treason against the state and the people of Maharashtra who had voted for him to be the CM,” Sule said during a public rally in Kolhapur.


This isn’t the first time that Sule has made Fadnavis the target of her political anger with the BJP. She has systematically targeted him specifically in his role as the home minister of Maharashtra. Last year, she accused him of ‘breaking’ the Pawar family by getting Ajit Pawar to split the NCP. In the gruesome Pune Porsche case where a young man and woman were mowed down and the accused were initially let off lightly, she demanded Fadnavis’ resignation as an inept home minister. After the heinous Badlapur case where a school sweeper was accused of raping two nursery-going toddlers, the feisty Member of Parliament trained her guns on Fadnavis.


The Pawar-Fadnavis rivalry isn’t a new one. Also, it goes beyond the battle for political one upmanship. A member of the NCP (SP) recalls that Fadnavis had tried to break the supremacy of the NCP patriarch by side-stepping him as he took over as chief minister of Maharashtra. He realised that the influence of the NCP and the Congress stemmed from cooperatives—milk, sugar, banks or poultry and Fadnavis tried making in-roads into those to spread the BJP’s wings into what was traditionally NCP-Congress territory. That apparently was an initial point of conflict. Pawar didn’t fail to publicly remind Fadnavis that he had been friends with the then new chief minister’s father, Gangadharrao Fadnavis.


It is no secret that senior leaders of all parties consult with Pawar senior on crucial matters of the state, according him the regard that a senior leader commands. Be it Uddhav Thackeray or even Eknath Shinde as the chief minister, they have publicly acknowledged Pawar’s “guidance” on matters as varied as farmer concerns, Covid management and cooperatives. “Even politicians who have crossed over to other parties still maintain a warm rapport with him. An example is Uday Samant. Even Raj Thackeray may criticise him during public speeches but personally, shares a good relationship. That’s the kind of politics he enjoys; not one of animosity,” says NCP (SP) politician.


Their rivalry is nothing more than political chess, with each waiting to ‘checkmate’ the other. With Pawar refraining from making political remarks on his opponents, the NCP (SP)’s charge against Fadnavis and the BJP is led by Sule.


“Pawar and Sule enjoy good relations with most politicians across party lines. Fadnavis is an exception. He tried to break their party stronghold of western Maharashtra’s cooperatives,” says the NCP (SP) leader.

This mutual dislike isn’t new. Way back in 2016, Sule had likened Fadnavis to “women who fight at community water taps” further stating that he was unable to handle the responsibility that came with the chief minister’s position.


The rivalry had further deepened over the years. Fadnavis tried to break the undivided NCP’s chances of forming the government in 2009 by planning a midnight coup that involved wooing Ajit Pawar and other MLAs. The attempt, although unsuccessful, wasn’t forgotten by the Pawars. The second blow came when Ajit split the party, allegedly at the behest of Fadnavis and the BJP, supposedly compelled by the charges the investigative agencies had levelled against him. “There is real bitterness between them,” says the NCP (SP) politician.


With this background, Sule doesn’t miss an opportunity to hit back at Fadnavis who has managed to hurt her family and her party. As Pawar’s daughter, she is set to carry on the rivalry and avenge the damage her father has suffered.

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