RAIPUR: Saturday’s operation in Bastar by security forces may have been aimed at striking at the heart Maoist commander Madvi Hidma’s stronghold — perhaps the most wanted insurgent — but police aren’t even sure what he looks like. They just have a bundle of photos of men who could be Hidma.
All that’s known is that Hidma is perhaps 53 years old, short, and heads PLGA battalion number 1 as well as the Maoists’ south sub-zonal command.
In every major Maoist attack in Bastar, Hidma’s shadowy figure creeps in. Tekulguda village, where Maoists ambushed security personnel on Saturday, killing 23 jawans, is next to Puvarti, which is believed to be Hidma’s native village.