‘Dwindled to a handful', only 24 armed Naxal cadres active in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli: Police
Only 24 armed Naxal cadres are currently active in Maharashtra's border district Gadchiroli, according to the police. They are mostly concentrated in security vacuum areas, such as Abujhmarh and the National Park region, along the areas bordering the Narayanpur and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh, said the police.
The insurgency in Gadchiroli has been gradually declining due to the efforts of the state's elite anti-Naxal commando force, C60, as well as operations conducted by Central forces. Authorities say that the remaining insurgent group is fragmented and largely cornered, which has led to a focused approach in the ongoing anti-Naxal operations.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Neelotpal, Superintendent of Police, said, 'Some part of Abujhmarh also comes under our operational area. While movement has been observed, the numbers have dwindled to a handful. This has made our strategy more specific, allowing for surrender first but initiating full-scale operations if needed.'
According to officials, while 40 Naxal cadres remain on record, only 24 are active armed cadres currently believed to be operating in the region, according to intelligence sources.
'As the base shrinks, tracking and neutralising them becomes more challenging,' Neelotpal added.
The Gadchiroli police say that surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy has also proven to be effective. On January 1, the wife of CPI (Maoist) central committee member Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu, Tarakka, was among 11 who surrendered before the chief minister. The biggest breakthrough came on June 22 last year when top Gadchiroli division in-charge Giridhar Tumreddy laid down arms.
'His surrender was an operational game-changer. Since then, 52 Naxals have surrendered,' SP Neelotpal said. The location from where the Gadchiroli police brought him out alive was near-impossible to breach, police sources said.
Last week, 12 Maoists surrendered in Gadchiroli in front of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during his visit there.
With security forces increasing presence in remote pockets and a renewed push for surrenders, the district is witnessing a major shift in its decades-long conflict with left-wing extremism.
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