44 Maoist Memorials Reduced To Rubble As Security Forces Accelerate Push For March 31 Deadline

Nagpur: In one of the most symbolic anti-Maoist actions this year, C-60 commandos and CRPF units demolished 44 Maoist memorials in a meticulously coordinated operation on Wednesday.Razing of these memorials is widely viewed as a psychological and symbolic defeat for the guerrillas, stripping away one of their final tools of influence in tribal hinterlands before the March 31 deadline to wipe out left-wing extremism.The targets included deep inside Abujmarh — the forested heartland long regarded as the ideological and military epicentre of the banned CPI (Maoist) and the backbone of the so-called Red Corridor. These structures — concrete plinths, stone tablets, and plaques — were built to immortalise slain People's Liberation Guerrilla Army cadres as martyrs, serving dual purposes of instilling dread among tribals and luring new recruits with tales of revolutionary sacrifice.On Wednesday, around 800 personnel drawn from 18 teams, including Special Operations Teams, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads and local police posts systematically destroyed them across remote forest pockets — 18 memorials in Etapalli, 17 in Hedri, 5 in Bhamragad, 2 in Jimlagatta, and 1 each in Dhanora and Pendhari.Residents of once Maoist-hit villages — Pengunda, Kawande, Tumarkothi, Gardewada, Wangeturi, and Gatta (Jambia) — witnessed bomb disposal squads clearing the sites of potential explosives.SP Gadchiroli Neelotpal described the operation as a decisive step towards normalcy. "The Maoist movement in Gadchiroli district has almost been eradicated. By removing these symbols of terror, we are not only eliminating physical reminders of violence but also rebuilding trust and security among the people who have suffered the most," he said. The action was executed under the supervision of senior officers, including additional SPs M Ramesh, Kartik Madheera, Gokul Raj G, and deputy superintendent Vishal Nagargoje. The officials stressed years of sustained security operations, surrenders, and development outreach already shrunk Maoist operational space dramatically in the region.