From Maoist commander to domestic help: How 'undercover' Naxalite Renuka remained undetected in Delhi for years

NEW DELHI: To the residents of Maharana Pratap Enclave in Pitampura, Renuka was a familiar face, diligently going about her daily chores. Yet, beneath the quiet demeanour lurked a complex and intriguing individual - a Naxalite, Champa Hemrom, with a trail of alleged high-stakes encounters with security forces, and multiple cases against her.
On March 4, her carefully constructed facade crumbled when Delhi Police's crime branch took her into custody.

Renuka's story is an insight into how young girls are inducted into such groups. In 2002, Mungudu Hemrom and his wife had a baby and named her Champa. She grew up in a farming family with three brothers and two sisters in Kudabura village in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. When she was 10, a Maoist recruiter approached the family with promises of better food, care, and protection.

Life In Disguise: From Hurling Grenades To House Chores
With little knowledge of what she was doing, Champa was allegedly made a member of the CPI-Maoist led by Ramesh, claims a police dossier on her. As a teenager, Champa and others underwent rigorous training at the 'Bhakpa Maovadi Ugarvadi' camp in the hills of Kolhan forest. At the time, the camp accommodated 300-450 individuals, including 40-50 women and 4-5 children of her age, police said.
For five years, she trained in handling weapons like Insas and other self-loading rifles, light machine guns and even grenades. Champa was groomed as a trained commander for the Naxalite group and eventually placed in the field.
"In 2018, she took part in an encounter with Jharkhand police in Kolhan, followed by similar confrontations in Porahat in 2019 and Sonua in 2020, alongside her company commander, Jeevan Kandula," said additional CP (crime) Sanjay Bhatia. Renuka is also a wanted suspect in a case registered at Sonua police station, Jharkhand, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Explosives Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Things went south in 2019-2020, when police turned the heat on the extremist group. The leader of her faction surrendered before the security forces, prompting Champa to flee from Jharkhand. She got on a train and arrived in Delhi. With no money in hand, she started working as a domestic help in Delhi and Noida. She changed her name to Renuka.
In 2021, Renuka relocated to Rani Bagh and then to Pitampura, where she continued to work as a help. In March 2023, a non-bailable warrant was issued against herby the court of SDJM, Chaibasa, Jharkhand. A manhunt was initiated.
Two years later, the agencies zeroed in on her location in Delhi in the aftermath of a few suspicious communications made by her. "For the past few months, a team of eastern range (I) from the crime branch was working on information related to Maoist extremists staying in the NCR region. We received a tip about the accused living in Pitampura and working in Maharana Pratap Enclave," said DCP (crime) Vikram Singh. A team comprising inspector Lichhman, head constable Beepti and others subsequently conducted a raid at her home and arrested her. She was produced before the court and will be handed over to Jharkhand Police for further legal action, police said.
Special commissioner (crime) Devesh Srivastava said investigation was under way to uncover further links.