Adilabad: Sangeethakka, one of longest surviving woman Maoists, killed in Chattisgarh encounter

Adilabad: A woman Maoist’s death has finally brought an end to the violent history and miseries of remote Dedra village in Baarhatnoor Mandal of Adilabad district.

Dasarwar Sumanbai alias Sangeethakka alias Rajitha was hailing from the remote Dedra village in Baarhatnoor mandal of Adilabad district.

Her death is significant as it brings to an end the old association of the tribal hamlet with left-wing extremism.

The rather difficult-to-access Dedra habitation is located on a plateau in the beautiful hilly forest terrain on the Telangana-Maharashtra border, about 16 km away from the mandal headquarters. Its isolation had made it a favorite of the Boath dalam of the then CPI (ML)People's War (PWG).

The Naxalites had wielded tremendous influence in these parts, especially on the poor denizens of Dedra. As a result, at least seven villagers had joined the ranks of the PWG, a number which was considered to be higher for a single habitation.

All the Dedra naxals had either surrendered or been killed in an exchange of fire with police during the years before the underground movement started waning in 2004-2005. Only Sumanbai from the lot had been active till the end came at Kanker.

The 43-year-old Sumanbai was among those who had enlisted in the Naxalite armed dalams in 1999 when she was of an impressionable age of just 18 years. According to sources in the village, she never visited Dedra after she left to join the underground movement.

She was reported to have been shifted by her outfit to Dandakaranya which had her working in different capacities with armed bands in Chattisgarh. At the time of the encounter, the Naxalite was with the North Bastar Divisional Committee.

As per a recently released poster of 'wanted' Maoists, Sangeethakka carries a reward of Rs. 5 lakh in Telangana. The reward amount announced by the Chattisgarh government is said to be Rs. 25 lakh as she was involved in many criminal cases in that State.

Dedra's tryst with left-wing extremism between 1995 and 2003 had police focus especially on it aiming to wean the underground cadres away from naxalism and prevent others from choosing the path of violence. With the active support of the Adilabad district administration, the then Superintendent of Police Mahesh M. Bhagwat, who currently serves as Additional DG of Railways and Road Safety, undertook programs to reach out to the villagers.

"In 2002, we had an overhead water tank constructed in the village as the habitation faced acute water scarcity all the time. We also reached out to the poor families of the underground cadres by handing them over clothes and rations," Mr. Bhagwat recalled of the special efforts put in by the police at that time.

"Kumra Shivaji, an underground member of the PWG from Dedra had surrendered following our outreach activities. Later five others too laid down their arms," he added.

The district police continued its efforts to appeal to Sumanbai to surrender herself and join the mainstream. The last significant such effort had, by sheer coincidence, had come on April 17, 2018.

The then SP Vishnu S. Warrier had met the Maoist's mother Anjanabai and handed her rations and clothes besides inaugurating a water purification plant, a gift from the government to the villagers. The mother of Sangeethakka had issued a fervent appeal to her daughter whom she had not seen in almost two decades.