Madvi Hidma had just 35-40 AK-47 rounds left when he was shot dead

Security personnel then found that the Maoist leader, his personal guard Deve, and others had just 35-40 rounds of AK-47 rifle ammunition. A few were fired, and 28 unspent rounds were recovered. Officials also found five rounds of pistol ammunition and an empty revolver.

“On the run from security forces, they did not have much to fight with. We usually recover large quantities of ammunition during such operations involving top Maoist leaders, but not in this case. This indicates that even a top leader like Hidma could not get hold of enough ammunition to stay in the fight,” an official said.

The Andhra Pradesh police said they had been tracking inputs of increased Maoist activity along the AP-Chhattisgarh-Odisha border.

“Between 6.30 am and 7 am today, an exchange of fire occurred between Maoists and the police party in Maredumilli Mandal. During the encounter, six Maoists were neutralised. Based on reliable sources and field verification, it has been confirmed that Madvi Hidma, Central Committee Member (CCM), South Bastar Battalion; Madakam Raje, State Zonal Committee Member (SZCM); Deve; Lakmal; Malla; and Kamlu were eliminated. Intelligence inputs over the past few weeks had indicated increased Maoist movement along the AP-Chhattisgarh-Odisha border, leading to intensified combing operations,” a statement from the office of Director General of Police (DGP) stated.

Explosive materials recovered from the site included electrical detonators, 150 non-electrical detonators, 25 metres of fuse wire, and seven kit bags.

“Combing operations are continuing in the surrounding areas to ensure complete sanitisation and prevent further Maoist activity,” the statement said.

Security forces in Telangana have also increased patrolling and combing along the inter-state borders.

Tuesday’s operation took place after a long period of limited Maoist activity in AP. The state witnessed previous encounters in April and June. In an encounter on June 18, Gajarla Ravi, a Central Committee member on the National Investigation Agency’s most wanted list, and Aruna, the wife of senior Maoist leader Chalapati alias Appa Rao, were among three Maoists killed.