Madvi Hidma: The key cases that made him India’s most wanted Maoist

In what officials are calling a “monumental victory,” India’s security forces have killed Madvi Hidma, one of the most dreaded Maoist commanders, in a forest encounter near the tri-junction of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana. The operation, which took place early on November 18, also claimed the lives of other insurgents, including Hidma’s wife.

Hidma—also known by aliases like “Deva” and “Hidmalu”—led the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion No. 1, the Maoists’ most lethal fighting force. He was responsible for at least 26 armed attacks, including some of the deadliest ambushes on security forces.

Born in 1981 in the tribal village of Puvarti in Sukma, Chhattisgarh, Hidma had deep roots in the Bastar region. After finishing school up to class 10, he joined the Maoist movement.

Over the years, he became a central figure in left-wing extremism, rising to the Central Committee of the CPI (Maoist).

Feared for his deep familiarity with the dense Abujhmad and the Sukma–Bijapur forest stretch, Hidma was widely considered the most dangerous field commander active in south Bastar.

According to officials, he oversaw a fighting unit of roughly 130–150 armed cadres drawn from Sukma, Bijapur and neighbouring regions. His battalion relied on an extensive chain of forest hideouts and sympathetic villages, making him a key figure in sustaining the Maoists’ military apparatus.

For nearly two decades, Hidma’s hand could be felt behind every major Maoist attack.

His name features in police files for the 2010 Dantewada massacre, the 2013 Darbha valley ambush that killed senior Congress leaders, the 2017 twin attacks in Sukma, and the 2021 Tarrem encounter in Bijapur. Officials also believe he was on the ground during the 2011 Tadmetla assault that left 75 CRPF personnel dead.

His feared reputation secured him a place on the NIA’s most-wanted list, with rewards for information on him totalling more than Rs 1 crore.

Despite an aggressive security push in recent years, Hidma managed to stay out of reach. In April 2025, authorities said he narrowly slipped away from a major encounter in the Karregutta hills, where 31 Maoists were killed.

With regard to the operation to capture Hidma, Andhra Pradesh’s ADG of Intelligence, Mahesh Chandra Ladha, told reporters that tracking him required painstaking surveillance. He added that the operation was “highly intelligence-based,” with security forces waiting for hours to strike.

After the firefight, authorities recovered a large cache of weapons, including AK-47 rifles and pistols.

Home Minister Amit Shah, who had previously issued a target date of March 31, 2026, for eliminating Maoist influence in India, welcomed Hidma’s death as a critical step forward. He praised the anti-Maoist forces for their precision and persistence.