CPI (Maoist) politburo member Kishan, one of the senior most leaders in the central committee of the outlawed organisation with a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head, was arrested on Friday along with his wife Sheela Marandi in Saraikela, about 140 km south of Jharkhand capital Ranchi, police said.

Kishan, alias Prashant Bose, alias Manish, was arrested near Kandra Chowk in Saraikela while the Maoist leader was returning from Parasnath, police sources said.

The arrested rebel, known among Maoists as Kishan da, is in his mid-seventies. He has been active in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. He was one of the think tanks of the CPI (Maoist) and involved in all major decision-making of the banned rebel outfit. His wife, Sheela, was also a wanted Maoist rebel and the only woman member of the CPI (Maoist) central committee, police said.

Police sources said that the rebel leader was suffering from age-related illnesses, but still managed to coordinate all the activities of the CPI (Maoist) in the eastern region. Most of the activities carried out in Jharkhand and some of the neighbouring states by the rebel outfit were orchestrated by Kishan Da, sources said.

While there was no official confirmation of his arrest by Jharkhand police by the time this report was filed, a highly-placed source in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) confirmed that the rebel leader was arrested in a major breakthrough. The apprehended couple, the IB source said, was being taken to Ranchi for interrogation.

Kishan, who hails from West Bengal, was the in-charge of Maoist activities in several states including Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, and was believed to have been operating from the Saranda forests in Jharkhand, police sources said. He was also the secretary of the CPI (Maoist) eastern regional bureau.

The senior rebel leader’s arrest comes as a major breakthrough in Jharkhand’s fight against insurgency, police said, claiming that with Kishan out of the equation, several activities of the rebel outfit would be affected, thereby giving security forces an edge over left-wing extremists.

“The rebels have been forced to retract by the security forces during extensive anti-insurgency operations run by the Jharkhand police lately. And this arrest comes as a major blow to the banned outfit,” said an official of Jharkhand police.

On November 8, three Maoist rebels including an area commander in CPI (Maoist) central committee member Anal Da’s cadre, surrendered to Jharkhand police.