Darjeeling, Aug. 16: A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader and prime accused in the Madan Tamang murder case was arrested in Darjeeling last night.

The arrest of Nickole Tamang, an “old friend” of Morcha chief Bimal Gurung, comes a day before the hill outfit is set to hold official-level talks in Delhi over the proposed interim set-up for the Darjeeling hills.

A contractor by profession, Nickole is a central committee member of the Morcha. He was part of a party delegation that met Union home minister P. Chidambaram early this year.

Darjeeling superintendent of police D.P. Singh said Nickole, 42, was arrested from his ancestral home at Kaijhalay, 45km from Darjeeling town. “We received information that he was at his ancestral home last night. We arrested him immediately,” said Singh.

Nickole had been absconding since Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) leader Tamang was hacked to death in daylight on May 21.

Singh said Nickole had told the police that he had been “frequenting Kaijhalay and its adjoining areas for the past few days, occasionally entering Nepal” through the porous border.

Nickole, the ninth person arrested in connection with Tamang’s killing, has been charged with murder and conspiracy. He was produced in the court of the chief judicial magistrate of Darjeeling amid tight security and remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody.

The CID, which is probing the case, had said it had seized from Tamang’s murder site a cellphone Nickole had used to “orchestrate” the killing.

The Morcha leadership has not yet issued any statement on the arrest.

Tamang’s widow Bharati today demanded that the accused be given the death penalty. “He should be hanged. We want all of those who conspired to kill my husband to be arrested as early as possible,” she said.

ABGL supporters demonstrated in front of the court where Nickole was produced. They also blocked Hill Cart Road for 45 minutes.