During his visit to Chhattisgarh earlier in on Monday, Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated in no uncertain terms that the fight against Maoists will be intensified in the coming days and the supreme sacrifice made by the 22 security personnel will not go waste.
The jawans were martyred in their line of duty when Maoists ambushed them in south Bastar’s Tarrem. Shah attended their wreath laying ceremony at Jagdalpur. One Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commando is still missing.
Addressing media in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh. https://t.co/T7naPXH0Bc
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 5, 2021
While questions are being raised as to how the Maoists could plan an operation of this magnitude and whether there was leakage of classified information with regards to the planned movement of the security personnel, it is also important to understand as to who masterminded the ghastly attack in the first place.
As per initial reports, it now appears that Madvi Hidma alias Hidmannna masterminded the Maoist operation.
Madvi Hidma alias Hidmannna
The man believed to have conceptualised and masterminded the gruesome ambush on the security personnel is believed to be 40-year-old Madvi Hidma who belongs to the Muriya tribal community. He is infamous for orchestrating lethal attacks and is the core commander of a pack of nearly 200-250 Maoists.
As per intel inputs, Hidma is presently heading the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Battalion number one. He is also one of the youngest members of CPI (Maoists) supreme 21-membered decision making body or the ‘Central Committee.’ He has reportedly undergone training in training in guerrilla warfare in the Philippines.
He is reportedly fluent in English besides regional tribal dialects and multiple regional languages.
His native village – Purvati in South Sukma – is still out of bounds for police personnel. His village people act as his informants and act as his security shield.
Figuring prominently in the Most Wanted list, he carries a reward of Rs 40 lakh on his head.
According to a some unconfirmed reports, Hidma has been appointed as the Chief of the central military commission of the Maoist squad.
Among the several lethal attacks carried out by Hidma’s teams, is the May 2013 Jeeram Ghati ambush on the Congress convoy in which about 32 people including many state Congress leaders including veterans like Vidya Charan Shukla were killed.