On March 30, 2026, Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta declared that the state was free of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), a day before the Centre’s deadline, March 31, 2026. Addressing reporters at the Vijayawada Police Command and Control Centre, the DGP observed,
Over the past 18 months, a total of 18 Maoists were killed in exchange-of-fire incidents across Andhra Pradesh. These include Central Committee members Madvi Hidma, Gajarla Ravi (alias Uday) and Metturi Jogarao (alias ‘Tech Shankar’) as well as AOB Special Zonal Committee members Venkata Ravi Chaitanya (alias ‘Aruna’), Kakuri Pandanna (alias ‘Jagan’) and Madakam Raje. We have also arrested 81 others, while another 106 individuals have surrendered. We have recovered a total of 120 weapons, and are continuing our efforts to locate additional weapon dumps. The SIB [Special Intelligence Branch], Greyhounds, Intelligence Department, and district police personnel have performed commendably in efforts to eradicate Left-Wing Extremism. Cash rewards will be provided to surrendered Maoists as per established norms. We will also ensure that they benefit from various government welfare schemes.
According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), 2025 recorded a total of 18 Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-linked incidents, as against 12 in 2024. Such incidents had been on a declining trend since 2018, falling from 37 in that year to 30 in 2019, 19 in 2020, 15 in 2021, 14 in 2022, and 12 each in 2023 and 2024. The increase in 2025 was linked to intensified Security Force (SF) operations in the run-up to the March 31, 2026, deadline for the eradication of Maoism in the state and across the country.
Similarly, incidents of killing have also been falling since 2020. There were seven incidents of killing in 2019, down to four in 2020, two in 2021 and one each in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Marking an increase in 2025, four incidents of killing have been recorded in the State. Overall fatalities have also been declining since 2020, with an exception in 2021. There were 14 fatalities in 2019, which dropped to five in 2020, increased to seven in 2021, and again down to one each in 2022, 2023 and 2024. 18 fatalities were recorded in 2025. A maximum of 204 incidents of killing and 317 fatalities were recorded in 2005.
Moreover, civilian fatalities dropped from five in 2019 to four in 2020 and have since remained at one each in the subsequent four years (2021–2024). No civilian fatality was recorded in 2025.
The last Security Force (SF) fatality in the state was reported on May 5, 2017, when a Home Guard, Sheikh Valli, was killed in a landmine blast triggered by CPI-Maoist cadres on the Lothugedda Junction–Balapam stretch, while returning from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) outpost at Rallagedda in Visakhapatnam District. By contrast, Maoist fatalities rose to 18 in 2025. One of the last major incidents (involving three or more fatalities) involving Maoist casualties occurred on June 16, 2016, when six Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire with Greyhounds of the Andhra Pradesh Police in the Theegalametta Forest area of Koyyuru Mandal (administrative sub-division), under Mampa Police Station limits in Visakhapatnam District.
Meanwhile, at least 58 Maoists (LWE cadres) were arrested in 2025, as against none in 2024, while five arrests each were recorded in 2022 and 2021. Under mounting SF pressure, at least 38 Maoists surrendered in 2025, in addition to 45 such surrenders in 2024. At least 17 Maoists have already surrendered in the current year (data till April 12, 2026), according to the SATP database.
Other indicators of violence also suggest a near-complete halt in Maoist activity in the state. The Maoists have not carried out any major attacks against civilians or SFs in recent years. The last major incident in the civilian category was recorded on February 19, 2023, when three tribals were killed by CPI-Maoist cadres in the Lakkavaram Forest area of G.K. Veedhi Mandal in Visakhapatnam District. In the SF category, the last such major incident dates back to December 25, 2005, when four Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel escorting a cash box on a Raigarh (Odisha)-bound passenger train were killed and five were injured in a Maoist attack at the Koneru Railway Station in Vizianagaram District.
The State has not recorded any incident of explosion since 2021. The last incident of explosion was recorded on August 3, 2020, in which two civilians were killed. The Maoists have not issued any bandh(shut down strike) call since 2022; there was one such call in 2021. On April 26, 2021, the Maoists had given a call for Bharat Bandh in protest against alleged harassment and torture of innocent people, especially tribals, social activists and civil rights activists, by SFs.
Since the beginning of 2026, Andhra Pradesh has not recorded any fatalities across any category, as of April 12, 2026. Maoists have not carried out any incidents of explosion or arson in the State. No exchange of fire between SFs and Maoists has been reported, nor have Maoists have not issued any bandh(shutdown strike) call in the State. No arrests of Maoists have been recorded. However, at least 17 Maoists have surrendered before the Police (data till April 12, 2026).
It is useful to note that, since March 6, 2000, when SATP began compiling data on LWE, a high of 507 LWE-linked incidents was recorded in Andhra Pradesh in 2005, the year in which the highest civilian fatalities, at 132, were also reported. The highest number of SF fatalities was recorded in 2001, at 41, while Naxalite fatalities peaked in 2003, at 165.
An analysis of overground and underground Maoist activities in Andhra Pradesh confirms their declining impact in the state. According to the SATP database, Maoist activity was reported from only one district in 2025 (out of a total of 26 districts in the state), with Alluri Sitarama Raju District in the ‘moderately affected’ category. In 2024, Maoist activity was reported from four districts. Of these, only Kurnool District fell in the ‘moderately affected’ category, while the remaining three – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Parvathipuram Manyam, and Visakhapatnam – were classified as ‘marginally affected’.
Significantly, on November 19, 2025, Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) Chief and Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mahesh Chandra Laddha stated that the Andhra Pradesh Police was working intensively to make the state free of CPI-Maoist and other extremist elements by March 2026. His statement followed two major exchange-of-fire incidents on November 18 and 19 in Alluri Sitarama Raju District, in which 13 Maoists, including senior cadres, were killed. Addressing the media, Laddha noted that around 50 Maoists of various ranks from Chhattisgarh and Telangana had recently entered Andhra Pradesh seeking shelter. In response, coordinated intelligence-led operations led to the arrest of more than 50 Maoists across Krishna, Eluru, NTR, Konaseema, Alluri Sitarama Raju, and Kakinada districts. He further disclosed that six Maoists, including Central Committee Member (CCM) Madvi Hidma aliasSantosh, were killed in an encounter near Uttaluru in Maredumilli Mandal, and a substantial cache of weapons, ammunition, and other materials was recovered during post-encounter searches. Terming the operations as among the most comprehensive in recent years, Laddha emphasized their intelligence-driven character.
Early 2026, including the period after the March 31, 2026 deadline, has remained largely incident-free, reflecting sustained SF dominance.
Notwithstanding the Maoists’ impending downfall in the state, the Andhra Pradesh Police continue to face critical shortages in capacity and deployment. According to the latest Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) data, as of January 1, 2024, the Andhra Pradesh Police had a strength of 88,514personnel, against a sanctioned strength of 110,186, resulting in a deficit of 19.66 per cent. The police-area ratio (number of policemen per 100 square kilometres) in Andhra Pradesh was just 54.33, compared to the national average of 65.78. Both the state and national averages for the police-area ratio were well below sanctioned levels, at 67.63 and 83.81, respectively. The police-population ratio (police personnel per 100,000 population) in the state was 166.18, as against a sanctioned level of 206.87. Moreover, the sanctioned strength of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the state was 144, but only 131 officers were in position, reflecting a deficit of 9.02 per cent, weakening executive supervision of the force.
Andhra Pradesh stands at a critical juncture in its counter-insurgency trajectory, with the near-eradication of Maoist influence marking the culmination of decades of coordinated security and developmental efforts. The decisive unravelling of Maoism in 2025 – reflected in surrenders eclipsing violence and SFs re-establishing control over core forested strongholds – set the stage for the March 31, 2026, Maoist-free deadline articulated by DGP Harish Kumar Gupta. With the deadline now past, this trajectory of decline has been sustained, though residual risks persist. The pre-emption of a spillover from neighbouring theatres and the resolution of enduring socio-economic deficits remain critical to consolidating these gains. The sustained reintegration of surrendered cadres, alongside accelerated development in tribal regions, will be central to securing durable and irreversible peace.
Above article is written by Deepak Kumar Nayak, Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management.
