A senior Maoist leader has been arrested in the southern Indian state of Kerala, police say.They say that Malla Raji Reddy was arrested in the town of Angamaly in what they describe as a "big blow" to the Maoist movement.
Mr Reddy was in charge of the rebels in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
On Sunday over 100 Maoist rebels escaped from a prison in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
Police say that Mr Reddy has been underground for over three decades, and is a contemporary of the overall Maoist chief, Ganapathy.
They say that his arrest could inhibit the capability of the Maoists to carry on inflicting attacks against the security forces.
Over the last two years police say they have arrested or killed numerous senior Maoist leaders.
More than 6,000 people have died during the rebels' decades-long fight for a communist state in parts of India.