Naxalite footprint shrinking in Gadchiroli? cops say recruitment stopped, strength depleted

Naxalite footprint in Gadchiroli, one of the two Left Wing Extremism-affected districts in Maharashtra, is shrinking with a significant drop in their activities over the last five years, according to police officials.

Police also claimed the Gadchiroli district, which shares its boundaries with Chhattisgarh, has virtually seen no Naxalite recruitment in the last few years and their strength has gone down considerably. Senior officials attribute the decline in Naxalite activities to a multitude of factors, including the elimination of top leadership in the district in encounters with the police, the arrest of cadres, the growing number of Naxalites putting down their weapons, and the effective implementation of rehabilitation programs. “Naxalite activities and their presence have declined in the district in the last five-six years, considerably in the last two to three years. The number of Naxalites has fallen considerably due to various encounters, arrests, and surrenders,” Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police, Ankit Goyal, told

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