Madvi Hidma

Madvi Hidma (1981 – 18 November 2025) was an Indian Naxalite who at the time of his appointment was the youngest member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Hidma was responsible for various attacks on the security forces in Chhattisgarh, including the April 2010 Maoist attack in Dantewada and 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley. He was on the National Investigation Agency's list of most wanted criminals. He had a bounty of more than ₹1 crore at the time of his death.

Militant activities Hidma was born in Puvarti village of south Sukma in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in 1981. He was also known as Hidmalu alias Santosh and was the face of the Maoists in Bastar. After completing his education up to class 10, he joined the Party and became a master strategist of military operations and guerrilla warfare. He reportedly received guerilla warfare training from a militant group in the Philippines.

Hidma was arrested in 2016 along with six other alleged naxals; at the time he was considered a low-level participant. which operates in the Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur areas. He was promoted to the Party's Central Committee as the youngest member. All told he is cited as having been responsible for twenty-six separate attacks. Indian Agencies also declared a ₹45 lakh bounty on his head.

2025 Karregutta encirclement Beginning in April 2025 with Operation Black Forest, Hidma was the subject of much news attention as he was allegedly at the centre of the Central Reserve Police Force encirclement of over 1000 Maoist guerrillas in the Karregutta hills.

Death

On 18 November 2025, security forces reportedly killed Madvi Hidma, his wife Madakam Raje (alias Rajakka), and four other Maoists in an encounter in the Maredumilli forest area of Alluri Sitharama Raju district, Andhra Pradesh. According to police authorities, the operation was part of an intelligence-based cordon-and-search after inputs about Maoist movement near the Andhra–Chhattisgarh–Odisha border; a gun battle ensued between roughly 6 am and 7 am, and all rebels, including Hidma, were killed.

However, the Maoist leadership and associated tribal activists rejected the official account, alleging that Hidma and others had been detained alive earlier and later executed, calling the encounter a "fake".