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After Hidma elimination, forces target Devuji, Ganesh Ukey to cross finish line in ending Naxalism

NEW DELHI: With Madvi Hidma now eliminated, security forces are now approaching to cross the finish line in completely ending the Naxal threat in the country. However, officials in the security grid say the mission will remain unfinished until Devuji and Ganesh Ukey are found and neutralised. Security officials said that Hidmas encounter psychologically unsettled the already fractured organisation and now, eliminating the two ageing commanders, who are the final symbolic pillars of the CPI (Maoist) structure, is the unfinished task, as their presence is holding together the last embers of an insurgency that has lost territory, manpower and public support. Noting that the recent successes against Maoists are attributed to precise intelligence inputs, the officials said, The security forces are fast approaching to fix the final nail in the coffin, which was earlier considered to be unending. The intelligence gathering of late may soon result in operations against the two ailing Naxal leaders, they said. The encounter that resulted in Hidmas death marked one of the most significant counter-insurgency operations in the recent past. Long considered the mastermind behind several of the deadliest Maoists attacks, Hidmas operational acumen was unmatched within the organisation. Many in the security grid believe that with his loss, the Maoists have been reduced from a coordinated force to scattered clusters operating without unified command. Devuji, now in his mid-sixties, represents the last generation of the classical Maoist ideologues, who joined the movement when it was politically charged and organisationally rigid. Though, once a key figure across multiple committees, he now remains as just a figurehead, the officials said. He struggles with limited mobility and remains confined to narrow forested zones and the intelligence suggests he plays more of a spiritual-ideological role for cadres, who still view him as a link to the movements origins, but he no longer directs meaningful operations, they added. Ukey, who rose in the ranks as an administrator, was responsible for communication channels, logistics and finances across key formations, but with him living underground for years have taken a toll, the officials said, adding that his shrinking mobility has severely restricted the Maoists ability to coordinate or sustain field activities.