Suspected Maoist Srimathi alias Shobita alias Shoba, who was arrested by the Q Branch of Tamil Nadu police in Coimbatore on Wednesday, has at least three cases against her in Kerala apart from nine cases in Karnataka.
Sources privy to the investigation said anti-Naxal squads in the three States had been maintaining her profile as Srimathi, but she claimed that her identity was Shoba during questioning. They said that Shoba's profile was first created by the anti-Naxal squad in Karnataka as Srimathi from Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka and this was circulated to their counterparts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
An official, who questioned Shoba told The Hindu, that she had been camping in forests of Tamil Nadu and Kerala coming under Kabani Dalam of the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
“Prior to Shoba's arrest, she was booked in Kerala in connection with an exchange of fire between Thunderbolt anti-Naxal squad of Kerala and a group of Maoists at Manjikkandi near Agali in Palakkad district on October 28 and 29. Four Maoists — Manivasagam, Karthi, Rema and Aravind — were killed, while a few others, including Shoba, managed escape. She was said to have suffered a bullet wound in the thigh,” said the official.
The three other cases registered against her were for pasting posters of CPI (Maoist) in public place and for destroying camera traps set up by Kerala Forest Department.
Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) were invoked against her in the three cases.
The Q Branch arrested her for offences under Sections 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC, 20 (punishment for being member of terrorist gang or organisation) 30 (claims by third party) of the UAPA.
Q Branch produced her before the Coimbatore District and Principal Sessions Judge R. Sakthivel who remanded her in judicial custody till March 26.
The District Legal Services Authority had provided her a woman advocate for legal assistance when produced at the court. Advocate S. Sathyabalan appeared before the court and expressed his willingness to be Shoba's counsel which she agreed. Shoba told the judge that she was a daily wage worker and she was unaware why Q Branch arrested her. When the judge asked Shoba to read out a text, she said that she was illiterate. She was lodged in Coimbatore Central Prison. Q Branch claimed the second woman who got out from bus while taking Shoba into custody from Anaikatti on Wednesday morning was a policewoman in mufti and not a suspected Maoist.