Maoist leader Madvi Hidma Encounter: The killing of Naxalite leader Madvi Hidma by the security forces in the dense forests of the Bastar region in Chhattisgarh has dealt a severe blow to the Maoist insurgency in the infamous Red Corridor.
Hidma and his Battalion 1 conducted some of Bastar’s most intense guerilla strikes for decades. As the security forces gradually gained ground, establishing camps and conducting ongoing operations, that began to alter.
76 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed when Battalion 1 assaulted a detachment of the security forces in Chintalnar hamlet in Dantewada following Hidma’s takeover. Hidma is one of the most sought men on the security forces’ list because it was one of the bloodiest Maoist strikes to date.
Madvi Hidma first gained notoriety in the nationa media in 2007, when Maoists stormed Urpalmetta in Dantewada, killing 23 jawans, majority of whom were CRPF personnel.
Following the incident, Hidma quickly rose through the ranks of the Maoists, becoming an annoyance to the forces. This led to a decades-long pursuit through the Bastar jungles, which concluded on November 18 when he was killed in a confrontation with the Andhra Pradesh Police.
Battalion 1 became a feared unit under Hidma, conducting some of the most brutal assaults on the troops. In 2010, a year after he took over, Battalion 1 ambushed a security team at Chintalnar village in Dantewada, killing 76 jawans. It remains one of the deadliest Maoist attacks to date, making Hidma one of the most wanted men on the security forces’ list. The battle between the forces and Battalion 1 under Hidma continued till 2024, a period that saw over 155 jawans getting killed.
Although the troops were constantly aware of Hidma’s precise location in south Bastar, the terrain and the lack of protection prevented them from reaching him, according to officers, who describe a number of difficult moments in their search for him.
Battalion 1 benefited from the security gap in Bastar, where there was virtually no police presence throughout thousands of square kilometers of forest land in Bijapur and Sukma, which is next to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
Also Read: How will killing of Naxalite leader Hidma affect Maoist movement?
Hidma and the security forces engaged in at least twelve firefights between 2016 and 2021. The security forces had carried out more than fifty missions to capture him, but he was always able to get away. He had outfitted his battalion with cutting-edge weaponry and was a skilled tactician. Even while the villagers may have supported him out of fear, he was also a hero to them.
For missions that occasionally lasted three days, small parties from Battalion 1 would stealthily follow the jawans as they ventured far into the bush. When the jawans returned, tired and dehydrated, the Maoists would wait and ambush them. It was classic guerilla warfare tactic.
The security forces gradually realised that they had to plan shorter operations, whether they achieve success against the Maoists or not. After 37 CRPF jawans were killed by Battalion 1 in consecutive attacks over two months in 2017, they security forces decided to change the timings of their operations. Soldiers used to leave for operations in the evening and return before the next evening.
The security camps were what altered the situation. The camps were largely situated on the highways until the government realized in 2017 that the best way to combat the Maoists was to establish security bases deep within the jungle.
Security forces personnel went to Hidma’s village Puvarti in 2017, but it took them 14 hours to reach there.
The presence of the increased number of camps and bolstered presence of security forces personnel forced Hidma to break his Maoist terrorists into smaller groups.
The camps enabled the security forces to prevent the villages from providing support to Hidma’s Battalion 1. Whenever Battalion 1 moved, the security forces launched operations against them.
However, the fight was far from finished. About five kilometers from his Puvarti hamlet, in 2021, Hidma’s Battalion 1 set up a trap that resulted in the deaths of twenty-two Jawans at Tekalgudem. The jawans were forced to flee, leaving their comrades’ bodies in their wake.
The forces’ battle with Hidma’s Battalion 1 in Tekalgudem in January 2024 was the turning point. Three of the forces’ jawans were lost, but they were still able to drive the Maoists back. But for Hidma, it would be the beginning of the end.
