Written by Jayprakash S Naidu+1 MoreHyderabad, Raipur | Updated: November 18, 2025 12:00 PM IST 5 min readMaoist Leader Madvi Hidma Killed: Madvi Hidma was the only tribal person from Bastar who worked his way up from being a child Maoist cadre to holding key posts in the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). (File)Maoist Leader Madvi Hidma Killed: Madvi Hidma was the only tribal from Bastar who worked his way up from being a child Maoist cadre to holding key posts in the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). Just this year, after serving as a military commander for over a decade, he was promoted to Central Committee Member (CCM), the second-highest body in the Naxal ranks, following the Politburo.As a military leader, he has been involved in ruthless attacks that led to the death of at least 155 jawans in the Bastar region. A week ago, the Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma had reached out to Hidma’s mother, Punji Madvi, after which she appealed to her son to quit the armed struggle. “Where are you, son? Please come home. We’ll earn a living and stay here. If you won’t come, what am I supposed to do? If you were nearby, I would have even searched for you in the jungle. What else should I say, son? Just come back,” she said in her appeal.Over the past several years, appeals were also made by mediators, the government and security forces asking Hidma to lay down his arms. Each time his response would be the same: “I will fight even if I am the only one left in the armed struggle.”Hidma was recruited in 1991 as a Bal Sangham (child Maoist cadre) by senior Maoist leaders Ramanna and Badranna. Born in Puvarti, a remote village on the southernmost Sukma-Bijapur border, known to be a den of Maoists till last year, Hidma was the Commander of People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) Military Battalion No. 01 – the most formidable force of the Maoists – for twelve years (2009-2021).During this time, at least 155 security forces personnel were killed. Attacks orchestrated by him included:On April 6, 2010, 76 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and seven were injured in an encounter in the Tadmetla hills of Sukma.On March 11, 2017, 12 CRPF jawans providing security to road construction workers were shot dead in Bankupara village in the jungles of Sukma. Two personnel were injured.On April 30, 2017, 25 CRPF jawans were killed and seven were injured while they were providing security to road construction workers in Burkapal village in Sukma.On March 21, 2020, 17 jawans from the district force and Special Task Force (STF) were killed and 14 were injured in an encounter in the Minpa-Burkapal hills in Sukma.On April 3, 2021, 22 jawans from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), STF, and elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) were killed and 29 were injured in an encounter in Pedadagelur-Tekalgudem on the border of Bijapur and Sukma.In 2021, he was replaced by Barse Deva as Commander of PLGA Military Battalion No. 01. Hidma was then nominated as the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) committee member in charge of the PLGA Battalion No. 01 to guide Deva.His rise through the Maoist ranks was swift. His first posting was in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat Region in 2002. In 2004, he was made the secretary of the Konta Area Committee in his home district of Sukma. In 2007, he was made the commander of Company No. 3, and in 2009, he was made a deputy commander of PLGA Battalion 1. The same year, he became its commander.Hidma’s wife, Madakam Raje, a native of Veerapuram under Golapalli Police Station limits, was also killed in Tuesday’s encounter. She was serving as the Head of the Mobile Political School (MOPOS) within the Maoist setup.Story continues below this adAfter the death of General Secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basvaraj in an encounter with security forces this May, the CPI (Maoist) had appointed Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji to that position. However, Hidma was learnt to be calling the shots.This was because the tribal cadres in the Bastar and Dandakaranya region, where the Maoists are holed up now, are no longer accepting any Telugu leaders, and Hidma, from Sukma, commands their respect and fealty.This was also the reason the Maoists elevated Hidma as Secretary of the powerful Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee instead of Takkallapally Vasudeva Rao of Telangana, a fierce military leader and one of the most wanted Maoists.The ruffling of feathers in the Maoist ranks dominated by Telugus also hastened the exit of Mallojula Venugopal Rao from the party. After eliminating a host of senior leaders, the central security forces had turned their attention to Hidma. He was last known to have been holed up in Dandakaranya.© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Express Explained