One of the names coming to the fore as intelligence officials investigate Tuesday’s Maoist ambush on the Sankrail police station in West Midnapore is that of Suchitra Mahato. It is believed that it was she who planned and led the attack.

According to a senior CID officer, she is a member of the divisional committee of the CPI(Maoist) covering Sankrail and is the wife of Sasadhar Mahato, who incidentally is accused of planning the mine attack on Chief Minister Buddadeb Bhattacharjee’s convoy in Salboni last year. In fact, Maoists gained hold in Lalgarh following the public resentment over alleged police atrocities during investigations into that attack.

Armed Maoists had gunned down two police personnel at Sankrail, abducted the officer-in-charge, Atindranath Dutta, and looted the police station and a bank adjacent to it on Tuesday.

“Considering the style of operation and the inputs we have received from constables who fled the police station after the Maoists attacked, we assume that the woman Maoist commander who led the ambush is none other than Suchitra Mahato. She is the only female commander in the area who can plot and lead an ambush,” said DGP Bhupindar Singh. “After we were told about the description of the female commander by the locals, we are almost sure it was her.”

The CID officer said that apart from Suchitra, Kalpana, Rina and Sobha may have been among the women cadres who were part of the attack.

Intelligence officials believe that the Maoists who attacked the police station are members of the Udaiji Squad and Pramodji squad. The police recovered cartridges used in AK series guns and other sophisticated arms from the site of the attack.