Wife Treks Through Dense Forests, Locates Naxals & Rescues Her Abducted Husband

Most of you must have heard the mythological story of Savitri and her husband Satyavan. For the uninitiated, as told in the ‘Mahabharata’, Savitri used her knowledge and wisdom to influence Yama, the lord of death, to grant life to Satyavan who was fated to die.

Although it might sound impossible in the 21st century, a real-life Savitri actually went beyond her capabilities to save her husband from Maoists.

According to NDTV, Sunita Kattam, 39, a woman from Chhattisgarh, trekked through dense forest for four days to track Maoists and plead them to release her husband Santosh Kattam who was in their custody.


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Santosh, 48, who works as an electrician at Bhopalpatnam police station in Bijapur, was kidnapped from Gorana village, reports Times Of India. “He left the house on the evening of May 4 to buy groceries and did not return,” Sunita said.

She further added, “Kadam was on leave and got stuck at home due to lockdown. He was also mentally not very sound. Initially, I and my daughter searched him for two days when he didn’t return home. We didn’t even know he went to the fair. Then I reported a complaint at Bijapur Kotwali station on May 6.”

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However, after learning from the people who attended the fair that the Maoists could be behind his abduction, she informed the police and started looking for him.

“I decided not to think too much and make efforts on my own to free him.”

On May 6, Sunita left for the forest with her 14-year-old daughter to look for Santosh. They were also accompanied by a local journalist and some villagers.

“We rode on motorcycles and walked through rough terrain for four days before finding the Maoists who had abducted my husband on May 10.”


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Sunita had managed to reach their hideout, around 40 km from Bijapur, looking for her husband. She was later informed by an informer that on May 11, a ‘Janadalat’ (people’s court) would be held by the Maoists to decide Santosh’s fate. She went to attend the hearing and was heartbroken to see Santosh standing in front of the Maoists with his hands tied.

“I fell on the knees of the cadres to release my husband. He wasn’t associated with any police operation, he’s a mere electrician.”

“The villagers also pleaded with the rebels to release him and built pressure on him,” she explained.


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But it was only after Sunita assured them that Santosh would leave his police job and practise farming at his ancestral village, that the Maoists released him. Soon after, all of them returned to Bijapur. Santosh was sent for a medical examination and his statement was recorded.

When questioned if she was petrified when she went into the forest to track the Maoists, Sunita said, “A woman can go to any lengths to safeguard her husband.” It was Sunita’s love and dedication towards her husband that she went to such extremes to rescue him from the clutches of the Naxalites. Salute to this brave woman.

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