The security forces gunned down Hidma and five others, including his wife, at Maredumilli while they were trying to enter the state through Alluri Sitharam Raju (ASR) district in Andhra Pradesh.
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In a significant breakthrough in India’s long running campaign against left wing extremism, security forces are believed to have killed the country’s most wanted Maoist commander, Madvi Hidma, during an intense exchange of fire in the Maredumilli Mandal region along the Andhra Pradesh–Chhattisgarh border on Tuesday.
The security forces gunned down Hidma and five others, including his wife, at Maredumilli while they were trying to enter the state through Alluri Sitharam Raju (ASR) district in Andhra Pradesh.
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Senior officials confirmed six Maoists were neutralised in the gun battle, and that preliminary indicators strongly suggest Hidma is among them. Combing operations continued through the day to secure the area and verify identities.
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The state police had been maintaining a steady surveillance on the borders after receiving credible information that the Maoists were trying to shift their base from Chhattisgarh, since the security forces have been keeping up the heat on the insurgents. Hidma’s death came as a serious setback to the Maoist movement in recent times after the killing of Basavaraj, the top leader of CPI (Maoists).
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had set 30 November as the deadline for nabbing the dreaded leader.
According to police, at around 6 am, there was an exchange of fire between the Maoists and police at Maredumilli mandal, which saw Madvi Hidma, member of the Maoist Central Committee and the commander of the South Bastar First Battalion, eliminated along with his wife and armed guards.
Andhra Pradesh Intelligence chief Mahesh Chandra Laddha said, “Over the past few days, specific intelligence indicated that senior Maoists were planning to enter AP and revive the movement. Acting swiftly on this intelligence, security forces launched a targeted operation early this morning. During the ensuing exchange of fire, six bodies of Maoists were recovered.”
The police recovered two AK-47 rifles, a pistol, a revolver, a single-bore weapon, ammunition, kitbags and other materials, including detonators, fuse wire and wire bundles. The others were identified as Deve, Lakmal, Malla and Kamlu. The bodies were sent for postmortem. A few Maoists ran away during the exchange of fire and the security forces launched a combing operation to nab them.
The intelligence chief added, “Police teams simultaneously carried out operations in Vijayawada, NTR district, Krishna district, Kakinada, Eluru and a few other places, leading to the arrest of 31 people linked with the Maoists.”
Among these, nine were security guards of the central committee member, Devji while the rest were members of battalions under the South Bastar Zonal Committee. They were trying to take shelter in AP to regroup and revive Maoist activities in the state.
Hidma was responsible for over two dozen deadly attacks, including the Dantewada massacre of 2010, in which 76 paramilitary personnel were killed and the Jhiram Ghati massacre, which saw the top state leadership of Congress wiped out. He carried a bounty of Rs one crore.
A master strategist, he remained elusive even though security forces claimed several times in the past that he had been neutralised. In January 2023, Hidma was almost trapped at the Telangana and Chhattisgarh border, but he had given the slip once again, and the Maoists issued statements to deny his death.
A tribal himself who hailed from Sukma, Hidma enjoyed a God-like status among the tribals of Chhattisgarh, AP and Telangana. He rose through the ranks despite the dominance of the Telugu leadership on the Maoist movement and his expertise in guerrilla warfare and local connections made him legendary among the Naxals.
Material recovered from the site points to a well-equipped Maoist action group. Explosive components, including electrical and non-electrical detonators, fuse wire, connectors, and a bundle of electric wire, were found scattered around the encounter spot.
Police also recovered kit bags, a camera flash unit, cutting tools and other items believed to have been used for assembling improvised explosive devices. Senior officers said the assessment of the cache reinforces the belief that a high-ranking unit of the CPI (Maoist) was present at the scene.
Bastar Range Inspector General Sundarraj P described the day’s events as “a moment of historic significance,” adding that the indications from the field strongly suggest a major dent in the Maoists’ command structure.
Chhattisgarh DGP Arun Dev Gautam also confirmed the death of six Maoists in the encounter and said multi agency verification is underway to confirm whether Hidma is among them.
The developments follow an emotional appeal made weeks earlier by Hidma’s mother, who urged him to surrender and return home. Her plea had drawn wide attention in the state, especially after Home Minister Vijay Sharma visited the family in Sukma.
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