Overview
- Security forces engaged a Maoist group between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. on November 18 in the Maredumilli forest near the Andhra–Chhattisgarh–Odisha tri-junction, recovering six bodies including Hidma and his wife, Madakam Raje.
- Andhra Pradesh officials said the site yielded two AK-47 rifles, a pistol, a revolver, a single-bore weapon, ammunition, kit bags and explosive components such as electrical and non-electrical detonators and fuse wire.
- The Andhra intelligence chief reported that post-mortems and multi-agency identification are underway and that combing operations continue after some cadres fled the encounter zone.
- Police conducted parallel actions across multiple Andhra districts, reporting at least 31 arrests of individuals linked to Maoist networks, including security guards of senior leader Thippiri Tirupati alias Devji.
- Authorities identify Hidma as a central committee member tied to roughly 26 major attacks, and note his death comes 12 days before a November 30 directive to neutralise him within a broader push to end Maoist violence by March 2026.