AGARTALA, Dec 20 - The body recovered from Tuikrama Lake in Sepahijala district of Tripura on December 14 was identified as of Nitusha Debbarma (32), a former militant. Police have arrested one Suklal Debbarma (37) for his involvement in the killing.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that the victim and the killers were former extremists. According to police, Nitusha had fallen victim following a dispute over sharing of money from the sale of several sophisticated arms they had stolen from the armoury of the All Tripura Tiger Force.
Nitusha had joined National Liberation Front of Tripura in 2004 and surrendered to police in 2013 at Kanchanpur but used to keep close contact with both the outfits. About a year ago, he clandestinely visited some ATTF camps at Satchari, Nagchari and Laimai in Bangladesh and stole some sophisticated arms including AK-47 guns and pistols.
Recently, Nitusha with the help of few former extremists took these arms to Nagaland and sold them to a drug smuggler gang and received Rs 10 lakh which was kept with one Parimal Debbarma.
On December 14, they assembled in Takarjala to share the money but dispute arose when Nitusha claimed 50 per cent as he was the mastermind and guarded the arms for so many months.
The meeting failed to sort out the dispute and at one stage Parimal, Sukhlal and another said that the discussion will be continued in the house of Suklal at Murabari but on the way they killed Nitusha and threw the body in the lake.
�It appears that the former extremist was killed following a dispute over sharing of sale proceeds of stolen arms�, said SP, Sepahijala district Sudipta Das on Wednesday.