Kannur: Chitralekha (48), a Dalit woman who waged a long battle with the CPM after its activists prevented her from working as an auto-driver, succumbed to cancer on Saturday. She had gained attention when her auto-rickshaw was set on fire back in 2005.

The woman auto-driver had spent most of her life fighting the CPM, demanding her right to earn a livelihood. She faced severe opposition from the local CPM leadership and a section of auto-drivers in her hometown Edatt, in Payyannur, and had to flee from there following their threats.

According to Chitralekha, she became a target of the CPM after marrying Sreeshkanth, a man from Vadakara belonging to another community. After marriage, Sreeshkanth shifted from Vadakara to Edatt and worked as an auto-driver. Soon, Chitralekha also bought an auto-rickshaw in October 2004 under a government scheme. However, members of the CITU union, which is affiliated to the CPM, opposed Chitralekha when she began plying her auto-rickshaw in the Edatt region.

They refused to allow her to park her vehicle on the track in the auto stand or take passengers. While Chitralekha was trying to cope with the situation somehow and ply her trade, her auto-rickshaw was gutted in a mysterious fire on December 31, 2005. The incident, in which her vehicle was completely destroyed, attracted widespread attraction across the state.

Some voluntary organisations later donated a new auto to Chitralekha, but the CPM workers did not again allow her to work in Edatt. Subsequently, she staged a strike in front of the Kannur Collectorate for 122 days and the Secretariat for 47 days demanding that she be allowed to earn a living.

When Oommen Chandy of the Congress became the Chief Minister, the government allotted land and money to Chitralekha to build a house at Kattambally. But, the CPM-led LDF government that came to power afterwards cancelled the allotment. Chitralekha built a house after approaching the court and securing a stay against the LDF government’s decision.

Chitralekha’s body is now kept in a private hospital in Kannur and will be taken to her house by 9 am on Sunday. The cremation will take place at Payyambalam at 10.30 am. Chitralekha is survived by her husband, Sreeshkanth, son Manu, daughter Megha and son-in-law Jiji.