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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.

Those helping BJP are Maharashtra’s enemies: Uddhav

Updated: Nov 7, 2024

Uddhav

Kolhapur: Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday hit the campaign trail and pitched the November 20 assembly polls as a battle between those who love Maharashtra and the ones who betray it as he reflected on the 2022 split in the party.


Thackeray hit out at his former ally BJP and its partners, saying those helping the national party are “enemies” of Maharashtra as he made a slew of promises to voters, including building a temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in every district if the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comes to power.


Addressing his first rally of the 2024 assembly polls in Radhanagri in Kolhapur district -- the constituency of Prakash Abitkar, one of the 40 Shiv Sena MLAs who rebelled against his leadership -- he said those who love the state are aligned with the opposition MVA which comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP).


Those helping the BJP, a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti bloc, are “enemies” of Maharashtra, Thackeray remarked.


Further attacking his one-time ally, the former CM accused the BJP of “selling” Maharashtra to Gujarat, where it is in power.


Thackeray claimed his government was toppled in June 2022 because he did not allow the BJP to harm Maharashtra and said not a single industrial project moved out of the state when the MVA was in office under his leadership.


“(Maharashtra assembly poll) is a fight between those who love the state and the ones who betray it,” Thackeray told the gathering.


The Shiv Sena (UBT) president started his speech with the sentence ‘Jamlelya Majhya Tamam Maharashtra Premi Bandhavanu, Matanu ani Baghinino’ (My Maharashtra loving brothers, mothers and sisters), seeking to position the electoral battle as a fight between “the ones who love the state and those who work against it”.


In his campaign speeches during the Lok Sabha polls in April-May, he would start his address with the sentence ‘My Maharashtra loving brothers, mothers and sisters’. It was contrary to his regular Hindutva-rooted ‘My Hindu brothers, mothers and sisters’ opening remarks at rallies, perhaps reflecting his alignment with the Congress and the NCP (SP) which project themselves as “secular”.


Referring to petitions filed by his party in the Supreme Court seeking disqualifications of rebel Sena MLAs, Thackeray emphasised he has still not got justice from the top judiciary and hence has come to people’s court for justice.


“I am not fighting for myself, but for you and Maharashtra,” the former CM insisted.

He accused the BJP of trying to divide people on the basis of religion and castes for the sake of power. Attacking the state’s Eknath Shinde-led dispensation, which assumed office after the fall of the MVA administration, Thackeray alleged the government works on “commission”.


Talking about the Mahayuti government’s flagship scheme for poor women, Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, Thackeray said police were not even ready to register the complaint of the mother of the girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted at a school in Badlapur in Thane district in August.


He said while the government is implementing the Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which underprivileged women are provided a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500, the inflation is spiralling, making essential commodities costly for common citizens.


Thackeray promised that if the MVA comes to power, every district in Maharashtra will have a temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The former CM said if possible, he will also build a temple dedicated to the 17th century Maratha warrior king in Surat in present-day Gujarat, a city linked to Shivaji Maharaj’s military campaign.


He assured that after the MVA comes to power, rates of essential food items like rice, pulses, oil and sugar will be stabilized. Thackeray said currently education for female students is free in the state, but a MVA government will extend this benefit to male pupils, too.

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