Amid a series of encounters with Maoists, focus on two most wanted

In the first 24 days this year, security forces in Chhattisgarh have killed at least 47 Maoists, but teams engaged in an intense campaign against the insurgents ahead of the deadline of March 31, 2026, by when the home minister has vowed to end so-called Left Wing Extremism (LWE), are primarily focused on two men, Barse Deva and Hidma.

- Prawesh Lama

NEW DELHI:

Deva and Hidma are the top two Maoist commanders, and, on January 16, they were cornered by security forces in South Bastar, but managed to escape. Still, the very fact that they are in the line of fire has brought some cheer to security officials.

"In the past one-and-a-half years, Deva and Hidma have managed to escape at least four times by putting their junior cadres in the front. But the fact that they are coming face to face with security forces in gunbattles now also means their strength is depleting. Otherwise, Deva and Hidma are commanders who have a three-layer security cordon with teams named A, B and C, whenever they move around," said a CRPF official, who asked not to be named.

Security forces have intensified their campaign against the Maoists. In 2024, they killed 250 and arrested 812 (another 723 surrendered). Thus far this year, 47 Maoists have been killed, including 16 between January 20-21 in a gunfight at Gariaband. To be sure, there's been a cost: in 2024, at least 17 personnel and 60 civilians were killed by Maoists. Thus far this year, Maoists have killed at least nine security personnel.

But the toll on Maoists has been significant. According to Chhattisgarh police officials, there are now not more than 600 full-time armed cadres living in the jungles. Among them are Deva and Hidma, whose names figure on the most-wanted list of every security force operating in the area: CRPF, ITBP and BSF.