Maharashtra's Gadchiroli declared Naxal-free after five Naxals surrender, eight Maoists arrested

Mumbai: In a significant breakthrough against Left Wing Extremism (LWE), Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district has been declared free of armed Naxal cadres.

Over the weekend, five armed Naxal cadres from Gadchiroli surrendered before the police, joined the mainstream, and pledged allegiance to the Constitution of India.

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

The surrender took place under ‘Operation Antim Prahar’.

It may be recalled that the Centre had launched a nationwide campaign to make India free of Naxalism by March 31, 2026.

“The operation was launched on May 2 and culminated in the surrender of five Naxals,” Superintendent of Police M Ramesh said.

“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, adding that anti-Naxal operations would continue over the next two to three years.

“During the intensive special search operations, a large cache of arms and ammunition, along with cash amounting to Rs 65.34 lakh, was seized. Maoist accused involved in the Fodewada encounter have also been arrested, dealing a decisive blow to Maoist activities in Gadchiroli district,” he said.

The surrendered cadres collectively carried a bounty of Rs 38 lakh.

Officials said the success of the operation marked another decisive step towards eliminating Maoist influence from Gadchiroli.

“The Gadchiroli police will continue strict vigil along inter-state borders to prevent the entry of Naxalites into the district from neighbouring states,” the SP added.

Geography of Gadchiroli

Gadchiroli falls in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region and forms part of the central Indian landscape.

The Gondwana-Kota formations dating back to the early Jurassic period, along with bamboo and tendu leaves, continue to shape the village economy. The district is also part of the ancient Dandakaranya region, spread across nearly 92,300 square kilometres, which occupies an important place in Hindu mythology, particularly in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The region is described as a vast wilderness inhabited by sages, hermits and demons. According to mythology, Lord Rama, Sita and Laxman spent a part of their 14-year exile in Dandakaranya.

Covered with dense forests, hills and the Godavari river basin, Gadchiroli is regarded as an important landscape for naturalists, conservationists, paleontologists, meteorologists, archaeologists, mythologists, explorers and travellers alike.

Spread across 14,412 sq km, Gadchiroli is larger than Goa (3,702 sq km) and Tripura (10,491 sq km), though smaller than Nagaland (16,579 sq km). The district is also nearly one-third the size of Kerala.

LWE in Gadchiroli

Since the 1980s, Gadchiroli, owing to its geography and nearly 76 per cent forest cover, became part of the ‘Red Corridor’ stretching from Pashupati to Tirupati and influenced by Naxal groups.

For the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), the district held strategic importance as its dense forests and rugged terrain provided cover and facilitated movement between Chhattisgarh and Telangana, which was earlier part of Andhra Pradesh.

The region came under the influence of the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Special Zonal Committee and the Telangana State Committee (TSC).

Arrests, surrenders, neutralisation

The Gadchiroli Police, the elite C60 commando unit of the Anti-Naxalite Operations (ANO), and the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) of the CRPF have mounted sustained operations against Maoist groups over the years.

During the past five to six years, more than 100 Maoist cadres were neutralised in encounters, over 170 arrested, and more than 150 surrendered and joined the mainstream.