Nagpur, October 12: The audacious Naxal ambush in Gadchiroli that left 17 policemen dead was led by a woman who was constantly directing her cadre to shoot and asking police to surrender.
42-year-old Bimala Chandra Sidam alias Tara akka (akka means sister), known for her beauty as well as her aggressive leadership, and her cadre encircled the policemen and fired indiscriminately, police sources said. Tara was heard over the wireless sets of the slain policemen directing her cadre to shoot. She was also using abusive language against the police telling them to surrender, the sources said.
Tara, a tribal from Kishtapur in Aheri taluka, married CPI-Maoist central committee member Mulajbhola Venugopal alias Bhupathi in 1989. She is currently divisional commander of south-Gadchiroli. According to the sources, Tara was assisted by two trusted aides – ‘commanders’ Eitu and Giridhar. After the attack, the Naxalites might have fled to Chhattisgarh which is just 20km away from the encounter site, the sources said.
Police suspect the Naxal ambush in Marrkegaon, in which 15 policemen were killed in February and Hattigota (Murumgaon) ambush that claimed lives of 16 policemen in May, were the handiwork of the same group.
–Agencies