Top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, wife and 4 others killed in joint op
NEW DELHI: Security forces on Tuesday killed top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, his wife Madkam Raje and four other Naxalites during a joint operation in the Maredumilli and Pullagandi forest belts along the Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh border, an action that comes just 12 days before the November 30 deadline set by Union Home Minister Amit Shah for neutralising key insurgent leaders and marks one of the most significant single-day blows to the Maoist movement in recent years.
Officials said the encounter took place in the thick tri-state forest corridor long used by Maoist units seeking to escape surveillance. Hidma, reported to be either 44 or 51 years old, had been one of the most influential commanders in the CPI (Maoist). He led the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army’s Battalion No. 1, regarded as the strongest armed formation of the organisation, and had been inducted into the Maoists Central Committee last year. He carried rewards exceeding Rs 1 crore across various states, including Rs 40 lakh announced by Chhattisgarh.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam, confirmed the killing and described it as a watershed moment in ongoing operations. “It is a historic and decisive day for the security forces on the anti-Naxal front. Hidma’s death marks one of the most decisive breakthroughs in the history of anti-Naxal operations, not only for Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, but for the entire nation,” he said. He noted that sustained pressure over several months had forced the group to leave their established hideouts in the Karegutta hills and adjoining border zones.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said the development had strengthened efforts to restore peace in Bastar. In a message on X, he stated that “Hidma’s terror has ended, peace is returning to Bastar” and called the neutralisation of six Naxalites, including the top commander, a decisive achievement. Sai added that the past months had seen hundreds of surrenders and several arrests of senior cadres, which he said pointed to a rapidly weakening insurgency. He reiterated the government’s confidence that coordinated action by central and state forces would make India free of Naxal violence by March 2026.
Hidma had long been regarded as one of the most dangerous Maoist leaders in the Dandakaranya region. His name became widely known after the 2010 Tadmetla attack in which 76 security personnel were killed. Investigators said he had assisted another senior commander, Papa Rao, in carrying out the strike. His involvement was also cited in the 2013 Jhiram Valley attack that targeted political leaders. Officials said he had joined the banned organisation as a Bal Sangham member in 1991 and later served on the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, which planned multiple large-scale ambushes in south Bastar.
Officers familiar with his operations said Hidma’s ability to evade capture for decades was partly due to his four-layered security ring and his command of guerrilla tactics. He was known to carry an AK-47 rifle and often moved with a heavily armed contingent. A senior police officer said, “Hidma had acquired a heroic image among his cadres, and his elimination is a major step toward eliminating Maoism from the Bastar region. His elimination is the last nail in the coffin in terms of military strength of a severely weakened insurgency in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.”
Authorities recovered a significant quantity of explosives from the encounter site. The IGP stated that the nature of the material indicated the Maoists were preparing for a major operation along the interstate borders. He added that the deaths prevented potential attacks and removed a central figure who had rejected multiple appeals from the government, police and even family members to renounce violence.
Hidma’s killing is the latest in a succession of high-profile setbacks for the Maoist leadership in 2025. Earlier this year, CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao, widely known as Basavaraju, was killed in an encounter in the Abujhmad forests of Chhattisgarh. His death was viewed as a major blow to the ideological and strategic core of the organisation.
Another major action unfolded in the Karreguttalu hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, where 31 Maoists were killed during a 21-day operation. The multi-force offensive involved the District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force and CoBRA units. Among the dead was Telangana-based leader Mailarapu Adellu, also known as Bhaskar, who carried a Rs 45 lakh reward. Officials described the outcome as a historic breakthrough. Data shared by the police indicated that Maoists killed during eighteen months of counterinsurgency operations in Chhattisgarh included 48 women.
As the government reiterates its goal of ending left-wing extremism nationwide by March 31, 2026, officials argue that the pattern of recent encounters signals a deep erosion in the Maoists organisational capacity. State authorities say development work, improved road networks, increasing cooperation from local communities and sustained deployments have contributed to the series of breakthroughs that culminated in Tuesday’s operation.
