Andhra Pradesh Police delivered a devastating blow to Left-wing extremism on Tuesday by arresting 43 CPI (Maoist) members in coordinated raids across Penamaluru near Vijayawada, Eluru, and Kakinada districts. The operation targeted underground networks directly linked to top commanders Madvi Hidma and Central Committee Secretary Devuji, effectively paralysing their urban support and recruitment structure in the state.

The centrepiece of the crackdown occurred at New Autonagar industrial area in Penamaluru, where 28 Maoists, comprising seven men and 21 women, were apprehended in a pre-dawn swoop. Among them were all nine members of Devuji’s personal protection team, a unit considered one of the most trusted and heavily armed within the Maoist hierarchy. A substantial quantity of weapons, ammunition, and incriminating documents were seized during the raid.

Krishna district SP V Vidyasagar Naidu revealed that the Maoists had deliberately embedded themselves among thousands of migrant workers in the bustling industrial zone to evade detection while allegedly finalising plans for a major offensive. Multi-district teams from Gannavaram, Penamaluru, and Kankipadu, operating under direct orders from DGP Harish Kumar Gupta, executed the operation with precision after months of sustained surveillance and real-time intelligence.

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In simultaneous actions, 13 more cadres were detained in Eluru and two in Kakinada, bringing the total arrests to 43. Interrogation is underway to establish whether Madvi Hidma himself recently transited through Andhra Pradesh. Full operational details, including the exact nature of the disrupted plot, will be disclosed by the DGP on Wednesday.

The arrests come less than 24 hours after security forces neutralised Madvi Hidma, his wife, and four senior cadres in an encounter along the Andhra-Telangana border in Alluri Sitarama Raju district. CPI (Maoist) sympathiser and national secretary K Ramakrishna condemned the killings as “barbaric state repression” and demanded an immediate judicial probe, insisting that political issues cannot be resolved through encounters.

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