Gadchiroli: In a significant success for security forces, as many as four Maoist cadres surrendered before the police in Maoist-hit Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on Monday, February 3, said police.
A Divisional Committee (DVC) Member and an Area Committee Member (ACM) was part of the group who joined the mainstream by parting ways with the banned group. The other two surrendered Maoists were active as Platoon Members.
The four were carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 28 lakhs as announced by the government. The surrender took place before the officials of Gadchiroli police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Monday, marking continuation of surrender of Maoist cadres in Gadchiroli.
#WATCH | Maharashtra: Four naxals surrendered before Gadchiroli Police and CRPF today. The naxals carried a total reward of Rs. 28 Lakhs. One DVCM (Divisional Committee Member) senior cadre naxal along with one ACM (Area Committee Member) and two Platoon Members, surrendered… pic.twitter.com/iKoZPd4U5P
— ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2025
Notably, 11 Maoists including the infamous Vimla Chandra Sidam alias Tarakka, who carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore had surrendered before the police in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli on January 1.
The surrendered group included 8 women Maoists who laid down weapons at Gadchiroli Police Headquarters. They had bounties totaling more than Rs 1 crore on their heads. Chhattisgarh government had also declared reward on them.
Among the surrendered was Tarakka Sidam, the head of the Dandakaranya Zonal Committee and wife of Bhupati, who had been involved in Naxalism for 34 years. The surrendered Maoists included three division committee members, one deputy commander, and two area committee members.
The surrendered took place before the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who eluded confidence that Maoist-insurgency would soon be eradicated from the state.
Speaking to the media personnel, CM Fadnavis highlighted the transformation of the Gadchiroli region, saying, “This area of Gadchiroli, where we are standing, did not even have a road, and the Maoists had complete dominance here. Today, ending that dominance, we have built two big posts and constructed a road and bridge connecting directly to Chhattisgarh.”
He added, “In a way, after 75 years, the people here will get to see the state transport bus. Therefore, I believe that this is a very important day. We had said that Gadchiroli will not be the last district of Maharashtra, it will be the first district of Maharashtra and we have started that. Now the Maoists do not find new people here, there is no recruitment. Big cadres are surrendering, so it is heading towards an end.”
1500 personnel setup security camp in Nelgunda in record time
Notably the recent surrender by the Maoist cadres comes on the heels of security personnel erecting a security camp in violence-hit Nelgunda village under the Bhamaragarh block. The camp was setup in a record time by around 1500 security personnel.
उपविभाग भामरागड अंतर्गत नेलगुंडा येथे नवीन पोलीस स्टेशनची स्थापना#policestation #bhamragad #newpolicestation #gadchirolipolice #camando #c60jawan pic.twitter.com/GKObBaKlhV
— गडचिरोली पोलीस – GADCHIROLI POLICE (@SP_GADCHIROLI) January 30, 2025
The development marks a significant milestone for the forces grappling with the Maoist challenge in the area as Nelgunda village was earlier used by the ultras as a training centre.
Hailing the development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said that Naxalism is rejected and Gadchiroli is changing. “The villagers expressed happiness and congratulated the police personnel who setups a police station in the village in a record time of 24 hours, this signifies Gadchiroli is rejecting Maoism, Gadchiroli is changing,” said the CM in a social media post on X.
उपविभाग भामरागड अंतर्गत नेलगुंडा येथे नवीन पोलीस स्टेशनची स्थापना#policestation #bhamragad #newpolicestation #gadchirolipolice #camando #c60jawan pic.twitter.com/GKObBaKlhV
— गडचिरोली पोलीस – GADCHIROLI POLICE (@SP_GADCHIROLI) January 30, 2025
Once considered a hotbed of insurgency, Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra shares boundaries with the Abujhmaad area of Chhattisgarh, a heavily forested zone and a bastion of the outlaws since decades. The difficult terrain and the lack of infrastructure had earlier made the region a safe heaven for the extremists who used to freely navigate from one state to the other via dense forested trails.
However, the efforts of security forces in penetrating the Maoist bastion of Abujhmaad and other adjoining areas has met with enormous successes in recent few years. As not only the forces have managed to setup strategic security camps/forward operating bases (FOBs) in core insurgency zones but they have also carried out major counter-insurgency operations, resulting in heavy losses to the banned group.
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