Hidma encounter fake, orchestrated by Maoist leader Devji: Former Bastar MLA

Manish Kunjam, a tribal person from Bastar and its erstwhile MLA, connected Friday (November 21, 2025) said the brushwood successful which top Maoist commandant Madvi Hidma was killed successful Andhra Pradesh connected November 18 was “staged” and “orchestrated” by elder Maoist person Devji. Hidma was from Chhattisgarh’s Sukma.

After a question of surrenders successful the past 1 month, including high-profile elder members of the banned CPI (Maoist), successful Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, Hidma and Devji were considered the remaining apical leaders inactive readying to proceed the equipped struggle.

Hidma, his woman Madkam Raje, and 4 different Maoists were killed successful an brushwood with information unit successful the Maredumilli wood successful Alluri Sitaramaraju territory of Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking to journalists successful Sukma district, Mr. Kunjam said that Devji was down the “fake encounter” and had utilized this arsenic an “advantage to physique his ain representation and summation governmental mileage”. The erstwhile MLA present runs Bastariya Raj Morcha.

“Two days aft the decease of Hidma, 50 radical (Maoists) were arrested successful Andhra Pradesh. Will 50 radical spell determination to get arrested? Most of them are section boys and are from Sukma and Bijapur (south Bastar). The full crippled was planned by Devji who is simply a large person of Naxalites,” said Mr. Kunjam, adding that Devji took each of them to Andhra Pradesh connected the pretext of getting them surrendered.

While the constabulary person maintained that Hidma was progressive successful the sidesplitting of implicit 260 information unit and 81 civilians, Mr. Kunjam questioned the claims astir his circumstantial role, adding that the blasted for each those attacks by Maoists was present being pinned connected Hidma, and not Devji.

“Look astatine each the newspapers, Hidma has been made the mastermind of each large incidents. What astir well-educated radical who came from Andhra Pradesh (and were progressive arsenic Maoists). Were they conscionable idling? They enactment each the blasted connected Hidma. They got him killed and arrested the rest,” helium said. “Devji is neither arrested, nor killed.”

Mr. Kunjam blamed Maoist leaders from Andhra Pradesh for “arming and instigating” Bastar’s tribal younker to articulation the insurgency.