A top leader of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist was arrested by the police in Karimnagar district in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

The police picked up K Amar, alias Devendar, after they got a tip-off about his presence in Karimnagar. Hailing from Karimnagar district in the backward Telangana region, Amar headed the Janashakti group as its central committee secretary.

He is the younger brother of K Rajanna, former central committee secretary of Janashakti (Rajanna group), who was arrested by the police from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh in September 2006.

Along with the then central committee member Riyaz, Amar had represented the Janashakti group at the peace talks held with the Andhra Pradesh government in October 2004. He was state committee secretary at that time. Subsequently, Riyaz alias Venkateswarlu was killed in an alleged encounter with police in Karimnagar district in July 2005. 

The police said that Amar was involved in 14 criminal cases. He would be produced before a magistrate on Sunday evening, the police added.