Highly trained Naxalite worked as maid for 5 years, arrested

A 23-year-old woman working as a domestic servant in Delhi’s Pitampura area has been revealed to be a “highly trained” Naxalite who once carried an INSAS rifle on her shoulders while patrolling the dense jungles of Jharkhand with her company commander.

The woman, Rashmi (name changed), might have continued her "sleeper cell-like" existence in the capital had the Delhi Police Crime Branch not received a critical tip about a highly trained Naxalite woman living in the National Capital Region (NCR) for the past five years.

“On March 4, we received credible and confidential information about a Maoist extremist, a member of the CPI Maoist Naxalite group, who was hiding her true identity under a false name and residing in Pitampura,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Vikram Singh. Acting on the input, a team was formed that conducted raids in Maharana Pratap Enclave, Pitampura, where the woman was apprehended and subsequently arrested.

During interrogation, it was revealed that Rashmi hails from a farming family in West Singhbhum, Jharkhand. In her early years, a Maoist from her village approached her, promising better food, care, and protection and convinced her to join their cause. She became a member of the CPI Maoist extremist group in 2016 under the leadership of Ramesh, whose camp was located in the Kolhan forest hills," the DCP said.

The accused joined the notorious Naxalite camp “Bhakpa Maovadi Ugarvadi Jeevan Kandulna” at the age of 10 and underwent rigorous training for five years, during which she was groomed into a skilled Naxalite. She received extensive training in handling sophisticated weapons, including SLR, INSAS, LMG, hand grenades and the .303 rifle.

“In 2018, she participated in an encounter with the Jharkhand police in Kolhan, followed by similar confrontations in Porahat in 2019 and Sonua in 2020, alongside her company commander, Jeevan Kandula,” the officer stated.

Following instructions from her faction commander, Rashmi moved to Delhi in 2020, concealing her true identity. She began working as a house cleaner in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, and other parts of the city before settling in Pitampura, where she lived discreetly until her arrest.

A case under multiple sections of the IPC, Explosives Act, Arms Act and the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was registered against her in 2020 at Sonua Police Station in Jharkhand.