India, Nov. 18 -- The killing of Madvi Hidma in an encounter with the Andhra Pradesh police at Maredumilli forest near the tri-junction of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Orissa is the latest blow to the Maoist insurgency, which is on its last legs. Hidma, a senior functionary of the CPI (Maoist) and commander of Battalion One, the outfit's elite strike force, was involved in some of the worst massacres by the Maoists in the past couple of decades, including the 2010 Dantewada attack in which 76 CRPF personnel were killed. His death will blunt the strike power of Maoists, who are already reeling under the loss of hundreds of party cadres. In that sense, Hidma's death ranks in importance with the killing of CPI (Maoist) general secretary...