The letter mentions Sitakka's alleged fake encounter in Gadchiroli on July 6. The letter apparently written by one Srikant, alias Sukant, surfaced in a Naxal blog.
However, a senior Naxal sympathiser clarified that Sitakka is safe and sound. The letter hinted that Sitakka was 'killed' in the jungles of Maharashtra like her husband in a 'fake encounter'.
Naxals are claiming that their spokesperson Azad and another activist Hemchandra Pandey were killed by Andhra Pradesh police on July 2 in the jungles of Adilabad in a fake encounter. Naxal sympathisers alleged Azad and Pandey were picked up from Nagpur on July 1 by security forces and eliminated. This was done when Azad was preparing ground for peace talks between government and Naxals.
The content of Srikant's letter fuelled rumours that the unidentified woman guerrilla, in traditional olive green outfit, was actually Sitakka. The encounter had taken place in northern Gadchiroli forests where security forces had raided a Naxal camp. There was confusion regarding the cadre whose identity has not been established till date.
Srikant alleged that security forces had intercepted Naxal communications to trace Sitakka too. Intercepting one such communication between Agnivesh and Azad, the security forces ensured the senior Maoist leader was bumped off.
Initially, Sitakka too was thought to have been picked up along with her husband and Pandey. The activists had claimed that Sitakka too was not contactable for long. Her absence had given credence to the rumour of her death but she is learnt to be safe in Maoist bastion for now.
Meanwhile, the pro-Naxal activists are still planning to send a fact-finding team to Nagpur to verify the facts regarding Azad and Pandey's arrest from Nagpur railway station on July 1. However, according to an earlier plan the rebels had dropped the idea to send the fact-finding team.
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