NEW DELHI, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Indian police Tuesday claimed to have arrested a hardcore left-wing Naxalite rebel who carried a bounty of 300,000 rupees (4,000 U.S. dollars) on his head.

"Mohan Kashyap was nabbed from the forest between Madnar and Permpal villages in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kondagaon district by security forces," local police official Maheshwar Nag told the media.

"He is being interrogated. He was wanted in several crimes," he added.

Naxalites are currently active in at least seven Indian states, including Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The Naxalite insurgency began in the eastern state of West Bengal in late 1960s, spreading to more than one-third of India's 600-plus administrative districts.

Though major offensives by security forces in recent years have pushed the rebels back to their forest strongholds and the levels of violence have fallen, hit-and-run attacks are still common, killing hundreds of people, mostly security personnel, every year.

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had described Naxalite insurgency as the country's biggest internal security threat.