Raipur: Top Naxalite commander Madvi Hidma, who masterminded numerous attacks over the last two decades, was killed in a security forces encounter in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, marking what the Chhattisgarh Police described as the “last nail in the coffin” of insurgency in the region.
Hidma (51), his wife Madkam Raje, and four other Naxalites were gunned down in the Maredumilli forest in Alluri Sitaramaraju district during a joint operation along the Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh border, a senior Bastar police officer confirmed.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai called the operation a “decisive achievement” in the fight against Left-Wing Extremism. “Hidma’s terror has ended, peace is returning to Bastar,” Sai said, highlighting that the neutralisation of the top Naxal leader and five associates was a historic step in restoring safety in the region.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam, described the killing as “one of the most decisive breakthroughs in the history of anti-Naxal operations,” adding that Hidma’s death would send a strong message to the remaining Maoist cadres to shun violence and join the mainstream.
Hidma, a native of Puvarti village under Jagargunda police station in Sukma district, had been the face of bloodshed, terror, and violence in Bastar for years. He had masterminded several high-profile attacks, including the 2013 Jhiram Valley ambush, and targeted killings that threatened peace across Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
Under sustained security pressure, Hidma, Raje, and their associates had abandoned their traditional hideouts in the Karegutta hills and along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border in recent months, fleeing from one location to another after suffering setbacks in Dandakaranya. Security forces recovered explosives during the encounter, indicating that the group was planning a major attack along inter-state borders.
Hidma headed the Maoists’ People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion No. 1, considered the strongest and most violent military formation of the CPI (Maoist) operating in Dandakaranya. Elevated to the Maoists’ Central Committee last year, he was also a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), which had orchestrated multiple deadly attacks in South Bastar. Known for his guerrilla warfare expertise, Hidma carried an AK-47 and was shielded by a sophisticated four-layered security network in the forests, making him untraceable for years.
Hidma had joined the banned organisation in 1991 as a Bal Sangham member and first gained attention of security forces after the 2010 Tadmetla attack, which left 76 security personnel dead. Since then, his name surfaced repeatedly in every major ambush on security forces in Bastar.
Hidma carried a bounty of Rs 40 lakh in Chhattisgarh and over Rs 1 crore cumulatively across several states. Officials said his elimination is a severe blow to the Maoist hierarchy and a significant step towards eliminating Left-Wing Extremism from the Bastar region.
Sai emphasised that the surrender of hundreds of Naxalites, arrests of top cadres, and sustained operations indicate that Naxalism is “breathing its last.” He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ushering in peace, development, and stability in Bastar, asserting that India could be Naxal-free by March 2026.
With PTI inputs