'Waited for the right opportunity and today...': How Maoist commander Madvi Hidma taken down in intel-led op

Senior officers, who were leading the operation, said they had "waited for the right opportunity and today, that entire action was taken."

The encounter took place in the Maredumilli forest of Alluri Sitharamaraju district, near the Andhra Pradesh–Chhattisgarh–Telangana tri-junction.

Hidma—accused of orchestrating at least 26 violent attacks on security forces and civilians—was among six Maoists killed.

His wife, Raje, and four armed escorts were also found dead, according to reports.

Specific intel triggered the strike

ADG Intelligence Mahesh Chandra Ladha, who oversaw the operation, said the breakthrough came after actionable intelligence indicated senior Maoist leaders had slipped into Andhra Pradesh to revive their cadre.

“In the last one or two days, we had very specific inputs that a few top Maoist leaders were entering Andhra Pradesh,” Ladha said. “We maintained constant surveillance, waited for the right moment, and acted today.”

He added that some Maoists managed to escape and that combing operations are underway to apprehend them.

Arms recovery

Security forces recovered a significant cache from the site, including two AK-47 rifles, a pistol, a revolver, a single-barreled weapon, kit bags, and other material.

The bodies are being shifted for post-mortem examinations, officials said.

Who was Hidma?

Born in 1981 in Sukma, Hidma rose through the ranks of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army to command a battalion and became the youngest member of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee—the outfit’s highest decision-making body.

He was the only tribal representative from Bastar on the committee and carried a bounty of Rs 50 lakh.

Hidma was believed to be the mastermind behind several of the deadliest Maoist attacks, including the 2010 Dantewada ambush that killed 76 CRPF personnel, the 2013 Jhiram Ghati attack that left 27 people dead—including senior Congress leaders—and the 2021 Sukma-Bijapur encounter in which 22 security personnel were killed.