Tripura youth Cong leader who was arrested with arms released, brother alleges conspiracy

Agartala: In an embarrassment for the Congress ahead of the Tripura elections, youth party leader Sandeep Roy Barman was arrested with arms, Bangladeshi currency, and letterhead of the banned outfit, the National Liberation Front of Tripura. He is the brother of Tripura PCC chief Sudip Roy Barman. He was arrested by Assam Rifles near Agartala, but was released on a personal bond.

"My brother has been released unconditionally as the preliminary probe found that he was nowhere linked with the incident. Congress does not believe in arms or violence. This is a conspiracy by the Tripura government to malign not just the family's image, but the party's image," Sudip Roy Barman said.

Tripura goes to polls on February 14. The CPI(M) denied that it hatched a conspiracy to arrest the brother of Congress state president. Addressing a press conference, CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar said, "We have demanded an inquiry and punishment of the guilty. We oppose the charge that our party had hatched a conspiracy to arrest him."

Dhar alleged that the police also found some documents related to the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) from Barman.