Major Maoist Leader Captured in Odisha: What Led to His Arrest?

Maoist Leader Arrested After Gunfight in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: In a significant operation, Odisha Police apprehended a notorious Maoist leader following a gunfight with CPI (Maoist) members in Koraput district on Thursday.

The captured individual, Kunjam Hidma, also known as Mohan, is originally from Janaguda village in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh.

Hidma held the position of Area Committee Member (ACM) within the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist). According to police reports, they acted on reliable intelligence regarding the presence of a group of Maoist cadres in the forested region near Petguda village, prompting a special operation by the Koraput district Police with the assistance of the District Voluntary Force (DVF) on Wednesday.

In the early hours of May 29, 2025, the DVF team spotted a group of Maoists on a hill. As they attempted to encircle the group, the Maoists opened fire and fled into the forest. The DVF team returned fire in self-defense. During the search that followed, one Maoist was captured while trying to hide in nearby bushes, while others escaped.

Authorities also confiscated an AK-47 rifle, 35 rounds of ammunition, 27 electric detonators, 90 non-electric detonators, approximately 2 kg of gunpowder, steel containers, radios, earphones, a Motorola walkie-talkie, a spare battery for the walkie-talkie, knives, and Maoist literature.

Kunjam Hidma became involved with the Maoist movement in 2007 at the young age of 14, initially joining Bal Sangham and the Jana Natya Mandali (JNM), the cultural arm of the Maoists.

He was elevated to the rank of ACM and received an SLR rifle in 2019.

Hidma has been implicated in numerous incidents of gunfire exchanges and has participated in anti-government and anti-national activities across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh over recent years.