Maredumilli, 18 Nov

The 43-year-old top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, who was responsible for at least 26 deadly attacks against security forces and civilians, including the 2017 Sukma attack in which 26 CRPF personnel were killed, was eliminated during an encounter on Tuesday. He was also involved in the 2010 Dantewada attack, which resulted in the killing of 76 CRPF personnel.

Along with Hidma, his wife Raje and other members of the Maoist group, including Chelluri Narayana, and Tech Shankar were also killed, sources said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to top officials after the neutralisation of Madvi Hidma, who was eliminated even before the 30 November deadline set by the troops for his capture, they said.

Maoist commander Madvi Hidma was born in 1981 in Purvathi in Chhattisgarh. He served as the head of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion No. 1, which is considered the Maoists' deadliest strike unit. Hidma was the youngest member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and the only tribal from the Bastar region to hold this position. A bounty of ₹50 lakh had been placed on his head.

Hidma is responsible for at least 26 deadly attacks, including the 2017 Sukma attack and 2013 Jhiram Valley massacre in which 27 people, including prominent Congress leaders from Chhatigarah, were killed. He was also involved in the 2010 Dantewada attack, which resulted in the killing of 76 CRPF personnel, and the 2021 Sukma-Bijapur encounter, which led to the deaths of 22 security personnel.

Earlier, IG Sundarraj said that they were hopeful to fulfil their goal to make Chhattisgarh naxal-free by 31 March, 2026, and in the last 20 months, more than 2200 naxals have joined the mainstream.

Speaking to ANI, P Sundarraj said, "Left Wing Extremism has been a bigger security challenge not just for Bastar and Chhattisgarh but the major part of the country for the last few decades. The last few years have been very decisive for the security forces in the Bastar region. In the last two seasons, we have recovered over 450 Naxalite bodies in the Bastar region. In this period, the bodies of top naxal cadres like Basavaraju and others were recovered. In the last couple of months, more than 300 Maoist cadres, including the Central Committee and Politburo members and other Divisional committee members, have decided to shun violence and join the mainstream."