On November 20, the Maharashtra Police arrested eight prominent Adivasi leaders engaged in a 250-day anti-mining agitation. The protest, opposing six proposed iron mines in the Surajgarh hills of Gadchiroli district, had garnered support from around 1,000 residents from over 70 Adivasi villages since March 2023.
Police forces arrived at the main protest site in Todgatta on the morning of November 20, apprehending key leaders, including Pradip Khedo and Mangesh Naroti. The leaders were transported via helicopter to avoid potential blockades. Approximately 25 protesters were also taken away in trucks.
Advocate Lalsu Nogoti, a leader of the Damkondawahi Bachao Andolan, claimed that police searches and destruction of protesters’ huts occurred, accompanied by a lathi charge in the afternoon. Nogoti expressed concern about the lack of female police officers during the operation and emphasized the peaceful nature of the 250-day protest.
Nogoti alleged that police had used drone cameras to monitor the village’s activities before the arrests. He criticized the limited support from politicians, noting that few government officials had visited the protest site. Currently, the village is heavily surrounded by police, and additional leaders are being sought for questioning.
The Gadchiroli police, in a statement, mentioned the proposed inauguration of a police station at Wangeturi on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. When police parties were heading towards Wangeturi through Todgatta, the agitators allegedly stopped them, leading to the detention of eight individuals involved in pushing the police parties. The police claim that no force was used during the incident.
