GADCHIROLI: Until December 23, Gadchiroli, once known as one of the highly Left Wing Extremism-affected districts in the country, had not witnessed any major incidents of Maoist violence since May 2014. At 9 a.m. on that day, around 300 workers engaged in mining activities of Lloyd Steel on Surjagad hills were taken hostage by Maoists. What followed was perhaps the biggest incident of arson in the history of the insurgency. Seventy-seven trucks and trailers, three JCBs and one motorcycle, spread over around three kilometres, were set on fire. For the next three hours, the Maoists ensured no one attempts to douse the blaze.
The incident suggests that hundreds of Maoists must have been present on the spot for multiple activities: torching the vehicles, keeping the workers in control, and keeping an eye on the road of Hedri police post, two kilometres away.
The first press note issued by the Gadchiroli police on December 23 put the number of Maoists present at approximately 400 to 500. But within hours, the police retracted their statement and said the number may have been given by the mistake of sight.
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According to local sources, the Maoists achieved two things. First, they wanted to clear the confusion over their understanding with the mining companies, and secondly, they wanted to send a message that they are once again getting stronger in the tribal district.
Such was the terror that the police took more than 24 hours to reach the spot. The remains of the vehicles are still on the mining site even after almost three weeks, and the activities in the area have stopped.
When asked for the reasons behind the delay in reaching the spot, sub-inspector Pravin Shirsat of Hedri police post refused to comment.
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According to some locals, around 50 workers and supervisors managed to flee before the arson began. Some police sources said these 50 people included some Maoist ‘targets’, including a person named ‘Raju’. “Had these people been present on the spot, the Maoists would have eliminated them,” said a source.
The last big incident in Gadchiroli was witnessed in May 2014, when the rebels had targeted a police vehicle in Chamorshi division, killing seven.
The insurgency was at its peak in 2009 when 52 policemen were assassinated in three incidents. The rebels carried out many strikes until 2012 when Mohammad Suvez Haque took over as Gadchiroli SP. Known as a dashing cop, Mr. Haque’s tenure witnessed back-to-back encounters and ‘elimination’ of a record number of Maoists.
When Mr. Haque was transferred out of Gadchiroli in 2014, the movement in terms of violence had subsided to a great extent. However, 2016 saw many alleged police informers being killed and a cop being abducted and killed.
Meanwhile, the Maoists, in some pamphlets circulated on Monday, have called for a boycott of the local polls in Gadchiroli and issued a warning to mining companies. They have also asked the local political representatives to desist from supporting the mining companies.
Shivaji Bodakhe, Inspector General of Police, Anti-Naxal Operations unit of the Maharashtra police, however, refused to term the Surjagad incident as a signal of Maoist assertion in the district. “How can you term it a signal of Maoist assertion? Torching a single vehicle or torching many vehicles is just an incident. How can you call it their signal? Only because of the number of vehicles?.”
The IG also disputed the large number of Maoists present on the spot on December 23. “Three hundred people were working on the site. As per our information, 30 to 35 Maoists were present and they instigated the labourers to torch the vehicles. Nobody has mentioned the number of 400 to 500 Maoists. I don’t know from where have you got this information,” Mr. Bodkhe told The Hindu .