Daijiworld Media Network - Gadchiroli

Gadchiroli, May 17: In a major breakthrough against Left Wing Extremism (LWE), Gadchiroli district has been declared free of armed Naxal cadres, police officials said on Sunday.

The development comes after five armed Maoist cadres surrendered before the police under ‘Operation Antim Prahar’, joined the mainstream and pledged allegiance to the Constitution of India.

At the same time, eight armed Maoist cadres from Maharashtra and neighbouring states of Chhattisgarh and Telangana were jointly arrested by the Gadchiroli Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Superintendent of Police M Ramesh said the operation began on May 2 and concluded with the surrender of the five cadres.

“As of today, we can state that no armed Naxalite cadres are operating in Gadchiroli. No Maoist figure remains on the district’s official wanted records following the launch of Operation Antim Prahar,” he said.

He added that anti-Naxal operations would continue for the next two to three years to prevent any regrouping.

Police said a large cache of arms, ammunition and cash amounting to Rs 65.34 lakh was seized during the operation. Maoist accused linked to the Fodewada encounter case were also arrested.

The surrendered Maoist cadres collectively carried a reward of Rs 38 lakh.

Officials described the operation as a decisive step towards eliminating Maoist influence from the district. Police said strict surveillance would continue along inter-state borders to prevent the movement of Naxalites from neighbouring states into Gadchiroli.

Gadchiroli, located in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, has long been considered one of the most sensitive Maoist-affected districts in the country because of its dense forests and difficult terrain.

Since the 1980s, the district formed part of the so-called ‘Red Corridor’, which stretched across several central Indian states and served as a stronghold for the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Over the years, the Gadchiroli Police, the elite C60 commando unit and the CRPF’s Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) carried out sustained operations against Maoist groups in the region.

Officials said that during the last five to six years, more than 100 Maoist cadres were killed in encounters, over 170 arrested, and more than 150 surrendered and joined the mainstream.