A dreaded Naxal leader who was wanted in several cases gave the police a slip after getting treated at a private city hospital. Hosagadde Prabha is "still alive and nothing has happened to her during the treatment" a senior police officer said.

Prabha’s comrades tricked in the police to believe that Prabha had died in the hospital due to dengue fever on August 18. The police thought that the cadres had somehow removed the body from the hospital and cremated it in an unknown location.

For more than 10 years Prabha has been an active Naxal leader in the Western Ghats area. A reward of Rs 5 lakh was announced by the state police for her arrest. There are 26 cases registered against her at Sringeri, Aldur, Balehonnur and Jayapura police stations