An Archaeological Survey of India employee holds pieces of pottery found at Chandraketugarh. (File picture)

Barasat, Oct. 8: A woman who had campaigned against the pilfering of priceless finds from the 2,500-year-old excavation site at Chandraketugarh has apparently been driven to suicide in the face of pressure to pull out of the movement.

Thirty-year-old Rama Das was hospitalised with serious burn injuries last evening.

The resident of Berachampa in Deganga, North 24-Parganas, died at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta this morning.

Her husband Swapan Das said she was being continuously threatened since joining the movement against antique smuggling.

Rama, a mother of three, was a volunteer with the local NGO, Durgabahini.

The Archaeological Survey of India is digging up the place, 45 km from Calcutta, while searching for remains from the Kushan period. Clay idols, pottery and metal coins from around 500 BC have been found at Chandraketugarh.

“My wife told me repeatedly that we should leave this place. She said people were out to murder her and her family members for her movement against illegal activities. She had lodged two complaints with the Deganga police. But they ignored her complaints,” alleged Swapan, a bus driver in Calcutta.

Swapan said the local police did not accept the complaint even when he approached them after his wife’s death.

“We have received the complaint and we are taking appropriate action,” North 24-Parganas superintendent of police Praveen Kumar said today.

Swapan said that on Thursday, some 20 people, including a local village panchayat member, came to their house and hurled abuses at Rama. “They told my wife that she was meddling in their affairs. They threatened to kill all of us. When I returned home from duty on Friday, she cried and requested me to flee,” said Swapan, breaking down in tears.

Rama left behind her sons Amit, 14, and Rocky, 10, and daughter Jhuma, 12.

The secretary of the NGO said Rama was its most vocal member. “She organised local women to build up a movement against the smuggling of antiques and sale of illicit liquor. She was very popular and the sale of illicit liquor had actually dropped because of her efforts,” said M. Haq.

Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who visited the area with Amartya Sen last year, had expressed concern about the theft of antiques.

“We’ll not accept the death of one of our members lying down. We have already lodged a complaint with the Barasat circle inspector,” said Haq.