A woman, who was picked up by the Chhattisgarh Police on Friday evening for suspected Naxalite links, has been hospitalised with symptoms of poisoning while in custody at the Bhatti Police station of Durg district late on Saturday night.

The police maintain that B C H Padma of Hyderabad was admitted to the district hospital after she complained of anxiety and chest pain. However, sources claimed that Padma had been hospitalised after suspected poisoning while in custody.

Padma had reportedly taken shelter in the house of Prakash Rao in Bhilai. “She was picked up by the police late on Friday night and was being interrogated discreetly at Bhatti Police station,” said a senior police officer.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Inspector General of Police (Raipur Range) Y K S Thakur denied that Padma had consumed poison. “Doctors are monitoring her situation,” he added. Thakur claimed Padma had confirmed her links with Naxalites following sustained interrogation. “She confessed her husband, Bhaskar Rao alias Balkrishna, was a Naxal commander and she had also come into contact with Rajhara Dalam after arriving in Bhilai,” the IG added.

Police sources said a letter and a diary have been recovered from Padma.