The arrest comes before an “official-level” tripartite meeting in Delhi on Tuesday between the Centre, the West Bengal government and the GJM. The arrest would put the GJM on the backfoot, hurting its bargaining powers as it seeks a settlement for an interim council. The last “political-level” talks were held in Delhi on July 24.

A GJM spokesperson said if the police had evidence against Nicole, they had no problem. “But we feel it is a fabricated case to weaken the movement for Gorkhaland,” said Benoy Tamang.

The West Bengal police had accessed telephone conversations allegedly between Nicole and other senior GJM leaders on the day of Tamang’s murder on May 21, which were reproduced by The Indian Express. President of the All Bengal Gorkha League (ABGL), Tamang had been killed in public in the midst of a rally.

The GJM has been losing ground since Tamang’s murder, while the ABGL has been on the upswing. Even Subash Ghising has got a fresh lease of life.

Nicole is the seventh accused to be arrested in the Tamang murder case. A number of accused are still on the run, and are believed to be hiding either in Nepal or Bhutan.