Madvi Hidma (51), one of the most senior surviving Maoist leaders and the most wanted commander within the Naxal hierarchy, was killed in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday morning.
According to security officials, Hidma — also known as Santosh — was travelling with his wife and four others when they were intercepted by security forces in the Maredumilli forest in Alluri Sitarama Raju district between 6 am and 7 am. The group was reportedly fleeing from Chhattisgarh when the operation unfolded.
A top officer said the breakthrough followed weeks of intelligence alerts.
“For the past few weeks, Andhra Pradesh SIB/intelligence inputs have specifically indicated the movement of Maoists near the AP–Chhattisgarh–Odisha border and, based on those inputs, we operated and got this success,” the officer said.
Hidma was a Central Committee member and a senior leader of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, believed to have been involved in at least 26 lethal armed attacks.
The encounter comes a day after anti-Naxal Greyhounds units and local police launched a combing operation late Monday night following reports of a large Maoist movement across the Andhra Pradesh–Chhattisgarh–Odisha border forests. Officials said the group was travelling through the dense border region when they were cornered.
Superintendent of Police Amit Bardar earlier said that six Maoists were neutralised, with the operation still underway.
“We will get more details once our parties return,” he told The Indian Express.
Tuesday’s encounter ends one of the longest manhunts in the region. Recently, when senior Maoist Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu surrendered, officials had stated that Hidma had become the top focus of counter-insurgency operations.
Andhra Pradesh has seen limited Maoist activity in recent years, with major encounters previously recorded in April and June. In the June 18 operation, Gajarla Ravi, a Central Committee member on the NIA’s most wanted list, and Aruna, wife of senior Maoist leader Chalapati alias Appa Rao, were among those killed.
With Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterating the goal of ending the insurgency by next March, security forces have intensified operations in Chhattisgarh, where Maoist cadres remain active in pockets of Bastar and Dandakaranya. Much of the group’s top leadership has been neutralised this year.
In neighbouring Telangana, several Maoist leaders and cadres have also surrendered in recent months.