Visakhapatnam: Top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma is among six Maoists killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in Andhra Pradesh's Alluri Sitharamaraju district in the Andhra-Odisha border area on Tuesday. His wife, Raje, was also reportedly killed in the encounter.

The encounter took place in the Maredumilli forest area when the police from Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and personnel of the central paramilitary forces were engaged in a combing operation after receiving information about the presence of Maoists.

Top Maoist commander and CPI (Maoist) Central Committee member Madvi Hidma is reported to be among the Maoists killed in the encounter.

His killing is seen as a major victory of the security forces in the anti-Maoist operations.

The security forces are yet to confirm the death of Hidma, who was behind 26 armed attacks on police and paramilitary forces.

Also read: Major setback to Left Wing Extremism as 21 Maoists surrender in Chhattisgarh.

According to police sources, the exchange of fire took place when security forces surrounded a group of Maoists and ordered them to surrender. The Maoists allegedly opened fire, forcing the security personnel to retaliate.

The security forces were continuing the combing for some Maoists suspected to have escaped deep into the forests.

The encounter took place near the tri-junction point of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

About Madvi Hidma

Hidma was considered the most wanted Maoist commander in India. The 43-year-old is chief of battalion number one of the People's Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) battalion, which is said to be the most lethal Maoist strike unit.

Hidma, who carries a reward of Rs 50 lakh, was the only tribal from the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh in the CPI(Maoist) Central Committee.

He was said to be the mastermind behind the massacre of 76 members of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Dantewada in 2010. This was the deadliest attack by Maoists on security forces in India.

He was also suspected of being involved in the killings of 27 people, including top Congress leaders at Jhiram Ghati in Chhattisgarh in 2013.

Hidma is also considered the mastermind behind the killing of 22 personnel of the central paramilitary forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma in 2021.

The top Maoist commander's killing comes close on the heels of a series of successes by the security forces in Chhattisgarh.

Tuesday’s encounter also came as a major blow to the banned CPI (Maoist) to regroup in the Andhra-Odisha border area, which was once considered a hotbed of Maoist activities.

(IANS)