Chief of the Bihar wing of the banned Naxalite outfit People's War group Arvind alias Deo Kumar alias Vikas was arrested in Patna late on Wednesday night.

Sources in the police headquarters told rediff.com that a Special Task Force of the Bihar police had been keeping a watch on a house in Kankarbagh locality in the state capital for the past two months.

Late on Wednesday night, a team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Dilnawaz Ahmad swooped on the house, getting hold of Arvind and three other men. Apparently, they offered no resistance.

Arvind is suspected of masterminding the PWG's activities in Bihar and carried a cash reward of Rs 300,000 on his head.

He is the main accused in at least 25 cases of landmine blasts and killings in different parts of Bihar, the most heinous being the killing of eight CRPF jawans in 1999 in Patna district.

His arrest is considered as a major setback to the PWG in Bihar as last year in August, the STF had nabbed Ajay Kandu, the second-in-command of the outfit.

Police sources said Arvind has been shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation, including by personnel from the Intelligence Bureau, the Andhra Pradesh police and the Research and Analysis Wing.