Top Maoist Commander Madvi Hidma Killed in Gunfight in Andhra Pradesh

New Delhi: Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, also known as Santosh, has been reportedly killed in a major encounter with Andhra Pradesh police in the Alluri Sitharamaraju district. As per reports, the gunfight broke out early in the morning in the Maredumilli forest area, located near the junction of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana.

Police teams searching the area have so far recovered the bodies of at least six Maoists, and the operation is still underway.

Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta confirmed that the exchange of fire occurred between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. “Six Maoists, including a senior leader, have been neutralized. A large-scale combing operation is continuing in the region,” he stated.

Hidima was born in 1981 in Sukma (then part of Madhya Pradesh), then rose through the ranks to head a battalion of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army. He turned out to become the youngest member of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee and the only tribal representative from the Bastar division on the top panel.

He carried a reward of Rs 50 lakh on his head. His wife, Raje alias Rajakka, is also believed to have been killed in the encounter.

One of the most feared Maoist commanders, Hidma is associated with several major attacks, including the 2010 Dantewada massacre that killed 76 CRPF personnel, the 2013 Jhiram Ghati ambush that claimed 27 lives, among them senior Congress leaders, and the 2021 Sukma-Bijapur attack in which 22 security personnel were slain.

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