Top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, wife and 4 others killed in joint op

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.

- NARESH BISWANI

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.