The bodies of slain Maoist commander Madvi Hidma and his wife, Madkam Raje, were brought to their native village Puvarti in Chhattisgarh on Thursday morning, where the couple received a final farewell on a single funeral pyre.
The cremation drew hundreds of villagers from across Sukma district, marking an emotional end to the life of the man long regarded as the most feared face of Maoist violence in Bastar.
Hidma, dressed in a black shirt and trousers, and Raje, draped in a traditional red outfit, were cremated amid heavy security and wailing relatives. The bodies were transported from Alluri Sitarama Raju district in Andhra Pradesh, where both were killed in a major encounter with security forces on November 18.
The bodies reached Puvarti around 8 a.m., accompanied by Hidma’s elder brother Madvi Muiya, village sarpanch Krishna Irpa, and other family members. The remains were first placed at the Puvarti police camp before being taken to the family home, where rituals began under the supervision of elders.
As the bodies arrived, crowds surged toward the house, many seeing Hidma for the first time in years. The lanes echoed with mourning as villagers, especially women, wept openly. Several residents from Puvarti, Jabgatta, Batum, Tekulgudem and Meenagatta travelled to attend the last rites, describing the moment as “the final chapter of a long, turbulent story.”
In keeping with local tribal customs, the cremation took place at the community cremation ground near the village. The ritual lasted several hours before the two bodies were placed together on a single pyre, a rare gesture in the region that underscored the couple’s shared journey within the Maoist ranks.
Security forces maintained a tight vigil throughout the process. A large number of personnel were deployed around the cremation ground and along approach routes, given the sensitivities surrounding Hidma’s death and recent operations in the border areas. Officials said the measures were precautionary to ensure that the funeral passed without incident.
Hidma’s death, one of the most consequential counter insurgency successes in recent years, has triggered mixed reactions across the wider Bastar region. While security forces have hailed the encounter as a turning point, Puvarti observed a day of grief, with several relatives recalling the slain commander by his childhood name, “Deva.”
The funeral, marked by quiet anguish and heavy security, closed an extraordinary 48 hours in which multiple Maoist leaders were neutralised, more than 50 cadres were arrested, and security operations across state borders intensified. For Puvarti, however, Thursday belonged to a more personal reckoning, the return of a son who left the village as a teenager and returned only in death.