An active collaborator of banned extremist group NLFT was arrested by Khowai police, who was directly involved with an extortion bid.

Giving details of the operation SDPO(Khowai) Prasun Kanti Majumder said that a group of NLFT extremists in association with their over-ground collaborators active in Khowai subdivision, recently sent a extortion message to a engineer and a contractor involved with the construction of a culvert at Nishan Chowdhury Para village under Champahowar police station.

Extremists had sent WhatsApp messages to these engineers and contractors demanding Rs. 10 lakh as extortion from their hideouts in neighbouring Bangladesh. After that engineer refused to pay the same, they threatened him with dire consequences.

After the engineer lodged a complaint before Champahowar police, the SP of the district formed a special police team to detain suspected collaborators of NLFT and laid an ambush with demanded money, said Majumder.

He added that as per discussion, extremists had fixed an area, where extortion money would be handed over and a police team with that engineer reached that spot with plain clothes. After waiting a few hours, none of the collaborators had arrived at that spot and police with the use of scientific technology managed to trace the location of a collaborator and detained him at Nishan Chowdhury Para village and arrested him.

Police added that arrested active collaborator of NLFT Rajesh Debbarma (50) said that his son Emang Debbarma, an active cadre of NLFT hiding in Bangladesh camp, was involved with an extortion bid.

Majumder added that they have started an investigation and will soon be able to arrest remaining collaborators involved in this extortion bid.