Nagpur: A strategic police post was opened on Thursday by Gadchiroli police at Bangadi village in the remote Bhamragad area of the district, once dominated by Maoists, marking the 11th such security launchpad since 2023. Opened on the auspicious occasion of Gudi Padwa, the police post is barely 2km off the Chhattisgarh border and was once a crucial transit point in the Red Corridor.The fortified post will effectively block a Maoist route on the Red Corridor that connected their former headquarters in Abujmarh to Indravati National Park in Chhattisgarh. For years, Maoists used this strategic point to move weapons, cadres, and supplies across the Indravati river.The Bangadi post will also help complete a critical 27km missing stretch on NH-130D, which links Alapalli in Gadchiroli with Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh. Along with the Beenagonda post, the Bangadi security post will secure ongoing road construction. Once completed, the highway is expected to boost economic activity in the region.Earlier, the dense forest route was heavily mined, spiked and filled with traps. In 2009, Maoists carried out a deadly ambush near Laheri, killing 17 security personnel — the highest toll in Maharashtra’s fight against Maoists. The new outpost is expected to prevent such incidents and fortify the area.The facility was built in just 24 hours with the efforts of over 1,050 personnel, including 1,000 C-60 commandos, 18 bomb disposal squads, new recruits, 500 special police officers, and private workers. Heavy machinery, including four JCBs, eight trailers, two poclains, and 20 trucks, were deployed to complete the construction, despite challenging terrain.The post is equipped with modern amenities such as WiFi, 15 porta cabins, a generator shed, an RO water system, a mobile tower, toilets, MAC walls, bullet-proof morchas, and 8 sandbag bunkers. It will be manned by 3 officers and 55 personnel from Gadchiroli Police, SRPF, platoons from Jalna, CRPF teams, and 200 commandos from the Special Operations Group.Senior officials, including special IG Sandeep Patil, DIG Ankit Goyal, DIG, CRPF, Ajay Kumar Sharma, and SP Neelotpal attended the inauguration and interacted with locals.Neelotpal said, “The new facility would strengthen security in the sensitive region and enable major infrastructure projects like highways, bridges, mobile towers, and the Gundenur nullah dam. MSRTC bus services will also be started to connect the area with other regions.”“Better roads will improve transportation, create jobs and drive development in this backward tribal belt. Villages will no longer remain isolated. This police post marks the transformation of a Maoist stronghold into a safe and developing zone,” he said. The development follows other recent facilities at Phulnara, Tumarkothi, and Binagunda.
