Mumbai, Apr 20

 Senior Naxal operative Uppuganti Nirmalakumari alias Narmada Akka, who faced dozens of criminal cases in Maharashtra and other Maoist-affected states, one of them related to a deadly attack on policemen in Gadchiroli in 2019, has died of cancer, officials said on Wednesday.

According to a senior police official, Narmada Akka (63) was diagnosed with cancer four years ago and died while undergoing treatment at a civic-run hospital in Mumbai’s suburb of Bandra on April 9.

A member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, she was arrested on June 11, 2019, along with her husband Kiran alias Sudhakar, also a Maoist, by the police for their alleged role in the 2019 Gadchiroli Naxal attack in which 15 police personnel and a civilian were killed, he said.

The couple originally hailed from Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.

Narmada Akka was active in Bhamragadh, Allapaly, Etapalli, Aheri, Dhanora, Dhamrancha, Phrasal and Kasansur areas in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, the official said.

She was named in more than 65 offences in Gadchiroli, including murder, arson, ambush and encounter, and faced many criminal cases in other Naxal-affected states, too, he said.

Narmada Akka, who joined Maoist movement in 1980, was also involved in spreading Naxal ideology, ransom collection from contractors and killing of police personnel using landmines, the official said.