At least 44 Maoist structures were destroyed by CRPF personnel in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli on Sunday, the force said in a statement. An 800-member CRPF team, spread into 18 teams along with state police, used earth movers to destroy 44 Maoist memorials in a bid to erase every memory of the left-wing extremism from the country. Sharing videos of tall Maoist structures being topped by earth movers in Gadchiroli, CRPF chief, GP Singh, in a statement on X, said, “Brick by brick, we would destroy the idea and its manifestation in each and every form.”
Gadchiroli, which was on the list of districts most affected by LWE violence, was removed from the list last year.
Separately in Chhattisgarh, over the last fortnight, the forces have destroyed nearly 100 such structures across the Bastar zone in areas that were once a red corridor and stronghold of Maoists. The symbolic purge and destruction of Maoist structures is now part of the government’s aggressive move to wipe out every symbol of the Maoists. Ahead of the Centre’s deadline to eliminate Naxalism from the country by March 31, 2026, and with just 4 central committee members left of the CPI(Maoist) and just 150-200 cadres, the forces are clearing each Maoist structure.
On May 30, 2025, HT had reported that during a review meeting, all central armed police forces working in the Bastar region were told by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to destroy such memorials and remove all traces of Naxalism from areas freed by forces that were under the control of Naxals. Following this, the forces had started removing such structures, and the pace has intensified in the run-up to the government’s deadline.
The memorials, usually structures measuring 5 feet to 60 feet, were erected by Naxals at their camps across LWE-affected states, which have not been freed from Maoists. The names of their slain comrades were etched into these memorials. Training, morning parades, and oath-taking ceremonies during induction were held outside these memorials when it was under the control of Maoists.
{{/usCountry}}The memorials, usually structures measuring 5 feet to 60 feet, were erected by Naxals at their camps across LWE-affected states, which have not been freed from Maoists. The names of their slain comrades were etched into these memorials. Training, morning parades, and oath-taking ceremonies during induction were held outside these memorials when it was under the control of Maoists.
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