Hidma, Maoists’ most ruthless field commander, killed

NEW DELHI: Security forces have killed top CPI (Maoist) commander Hidma in an intense encounter in the Maredmilli forests on the Chhattisgarh–Andhra Pradesh border, delivering one of the most decisive blows to the Maoist insurgency in years.

For those who have been following naxalism for long, the killing of Hidma signifies the end of naxal movement for all practical purposes.

Hidma, aged 44, was born in 1981 in Poovarti village of Sukma and belonged to the Bastar region. He had risen from a village youth to become the youngest member of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee and the commander of PLGA’s Battalion No. 1, the outfit’s deadliest fighting unit. His wife Raje, also known as Rajakka, and four other Maoists were killed alongside him.

For over two decades, Hidma was regarded as the most feared Naxal commander on the ground. Security forces long saw him as the one leader whose brutality, battlefield aggression and hyper-local familiarity with the forests of Bastar made him unusually dangerous. Unlike other senior Maoist leaders who operated from distant hideouts, Hidma personally led operations, conducted reconnaissance, and stayed active in the field. His intimate knowledge of every route, stream and ridge in south Chhattisgarh — combined with a deeply entrenched network of informers drawn from villages across Sukma and Bijapur — allowed him to execute ambushes with deadly precision. His reputation for extreme violence, often described as disturbing even by seasoned investigators, only strengthened the fierce loyalty he commanded within the cadre.

He joined the Maoist ranks in 1996 and climbed quickly, known for his expertise in guerrilla warfare, night ambushes in hilly forest terrain, and his command of automatic rifles and IEDs. A reward of up to Rs 1 crore had been announced on him. Over the past two decades, he was at the centre of more than 26 major attacks, including the 2010 Dantewada massacre in which 76 CRPF personnel were killed, the 2017 Burkapal ambush in which 25 jawans were killed, and the 2021 Sukma–Bijapur encounter that left 22 security personnel dead. Earlier operations such as the 2007 Urpal Metta attack and the 2010 Chingavaram IED blast were also traced back to his battalion.

His role in the May 2013 Jhiram Valley massacre was among the most chilling. He was one of the key members of the Maoist group that ambushed the Congress Parivartan Yatra convoy, killing senior leaders including Mahendra Karma, Nand Kumar Patel and V.C. Shukla. Investigations later found that the attackers desecrated the bodies of the leaders, jumping on the corpses and assaulting them with knives and cutters even after they had died — a reflection of the ferocity typical of Hidma’s battalion.

Hidma’s death comes after coordinated operations by forces from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana in the dense Eastern Ghats. The encounter in the tri-junction zone — long considered a secure Maoist hideout — marks a significant breach of what was once viewed as an impenetrable stronghold. The fact that a leader of his stature was tracked, cornered and eliminated in such terrain is being seen within the security establishment as clear evidence of how sharply intelligence-gathering and inter-state coordination has improved in Chhattisgarh and other Naxal-affected regions. Senior officers say the precision of the operation reflects a level of ground intelligence penetration the Maoists had not anticipated.

Two AK-47 rifles, a revolver and a pistol were recovered from the encounter site. Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken to the forces involved and congratulated them on the operation.

Hidma’s killing is being seen as one of the most damaging blows to the Maoist hierarchy in years. With the only Bastar-born leader to ever reach the Maoist Central Committee now gone, security officials say the insurgency faces a deeper leadership vacuum than ever before. They expect increased surrenders, a sharp drop in Maoist mobility across Dandakaranya, and an acceleration of development work in areas where violence once made access difficult.

The elimination of a figure who embodied both the operational aggression and the tribal outreach of the Maoist movement raises the question of how long the remaining senior leaders, many of whom are ageing or ailing, can avoid the expanding intelligence net.