Gadchiroli: Top Maoist insurgent held during forest reconnaissance for sabotage

The Gadchiroli Police in Maharashtra have arrested a notorious Maoist insurgent Shankar Bhima Mahaka who was allegedly conducting reconnaissance in the Tadgaon forest area with the intent to carry out a sabotage attackThe 32yearold a member of the Bhamragad Dalam was apprehended on Saturday during a combing operation by two antiMaoist special operations teams in the Tirkameta jungle under Tadgaon Police Station in Bhamragad SubDivisionMajor criminal history and NIA interestMahaka is a wanted accused in multiple Maoist cases including murder arson and IEDrelated incidents He was on the radar of the National Investigation Agency NIA in connection with a murder case and the Maharashtra government had announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for his arrestHis arrest brings the total number of Maoists nabbed by Gadchiroli Police since January 2022 to 109 underscoring the success of the ongoing antiNaxal campaign in the regionPolice confirmed Mahakarsquos involvement in a 2022 arson attack in which 19 vehicles worth Rs 2 crore engaged in road construction on the DhodrajndashIrpanarndashPengunda route were torched by Maoists The incident was registered at Laheri SubPolice Station Crime No 012022 and Mahaka has now been formally arrested in connection with the caseMahaka faces a total of four criminal cases including one for arson one for murder and two for other Maoistrelated offencesIn 2023 he allegedly participated in the murder of an innocent civilian in Pengunda villageLongstanding involvement in Maoist activities2016ndash2021 Served as a Jan Militia member in the Maoist outfit2021ndash22 Recruited into the Bhamragad Dalam as a fulltime memberSince 2022 Actively operated in the Parayanar forest belt gathering intelligence on police movements and assisting in destructive operationsOperation details and leadershipThe successful arrest operation was carried out under the close supervision of senior officers of the Maharashtra Police Leading the operation was Sandeep Patil Special Inspector General of Police AntiNaxal Operations along with Ankit Goyal Deputy Inspector General of Police for the Gadchiroli RangeOnground coordination was managed by Neelotpal Superintendent of Police Gadchiroli and M Ramesh Additional Superintendent of Police Operations The team also included Satya Sai Karthik Additional SP of Aheri Pranhita Vishal Nagargoje Deputy SP Operations and Ajay Kokate SubDivisional Police Officer SDPO of BhamragadThe operation was executed by the Special Operations Unit whose personnel successfully apprehended the hardcore Maoist after strategic surveillance and field intelligenceFollowing the arrest Superintendent of Police Neelotpal stated that the Gadchiroli Police would further intensify antiMaoist operations in the forest regions to break the network of leftwing extremism in the district He issued a renewed appeal to active Maoists to abandon violence and take advantage of the governmentrsquos surrender and rehabilitation policyNeelotpal emphasised that those who choose to surrender will be given an opportunity to reintegrate into society with dignity and respect encouraging them to leave the path of violence behind and begin a peaceful life