Key Maoist Leader Arrested In Odisha, AK-47 Rifle, Detonators Recovered From Him

NDTV

29-05-2025

Key Maoist leader Kunjam Hidma of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) was arrested in Odisha's Koraput, days after top Maoist leader Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju was killed, along with 26 others, in a Chhattisgarh encounter. He carried a Rs 4 lakh reward on his head.
Hidma, an 'Area Committee Member', was responsible for organizing and implementing party activities within a specific geographic area.
He has been linked to seven major violent incidents in the region. His capture is seen as a major success in the operations against Maoists in Odisha.
Based on intelligence inputs regarding the movement of a group of banned CPI (Maoist) cadres in the forest area near village Petguda under Boipariguda Police Station, a special operation was launched by District Police using the District Voluntary Force (DVF), a special constabulary unit of the Odisha Police, on Wednesday night.
In the early hours of Thursday, the special police team noticed a group of Maoists camping around a hill. As the team moved to surround it, the Maoists opened fire at the DVF team and fled into the jungle.
The team said it exercised controlled fire in self-defence. During the subsequent search, one Maoist cadre was arrested while attempting to hide in the nearby bushes and others managed to flee.
"Last night we got some information that some Maoists from Chhattisgarh were trying to enter Koraput by crossing from the Andhra side. We planned an operation after that and according to the District Police plan the DVF went and conducted the operation," Koraput Superintendent of Police Rohit Varma told reporters.
"They saw us and fired on the police but no one was hit. We have arrested one person. We have found weapons (AK47) and live rounds," Varma added.
The following items were seized from him:
AK-47 Rifle 1
Ammunition 35 rounds
Electric Detonators 27
Non-Electric Detonators
Gun Powder Approx 2 Kg
Steel Containers 2
Radios 2
Earphone 1
Motorola Walkie-Talkie 01
Spare Battery (for Walkie[1]Talkie) 01
Knives 2
Katuri (small axe/machete) 01
Torch Lights 4
Black Polythene 1
Maoist Literature and Misc Items
Several articles
During police interrogation, the Maoist revealed that he joined the organization in 2007 at the age of 14. He was inducted into Bal Sangham and Jana Natya Mandali (JNM), the cultural wing of the Maoists.
From 2007 to 2013, he remained associated with Bal Sangham and JNM. Between 2013 and 2015, he worked as a party member under the Usur Local Organization Squad (LOS) and received military training, during which he was issued a single-shot rifle.
In 2016, he started operating around the Andhra Odisha Border. In 2019, he was promoted to the rank of ACM (Area Committee Member) and provided with an SLR rifle.
He served in a military platoon under Suresh in Special Zonal Committee Member (SZCM), operating in the Boipariguda area of Koraput district, the cut-off area of Malkangiri district (Odisha), and the Pedabailu region of ASR district (Andhra Pradesh).
During 2021-2022, he was assigned to Andhra Odisha Border Platoon Section-01, operating in the Pamed area of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh.
In 2023, he was transferred to Platoon-24 in the Kerlapal area under Sukma district, and in 2024, temporarily moved to Platoon-26, operating in the Malengiri area of Sukma.
He returned to the Andhra Odisha Border unit in May 2025.
He is also involved in many other anti-government and anti national activities in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh areas, which will be further verified during the course of investigation, said the police.