A traffic inspector of Tripura police has been arrested for allegedly siphoning off above Rs 74 lakh from fine collections on Tuesday midnight by Bishalgarh police station of Sepahijala district.

The accused police Inspector Amarjit Debbarma was responsible for collecting and depositing traffic fines at the Bishalgarh Traffic Police Unit under Sepahijala District but failed to submit the amount to the government exchequer.

Additional Superintendent of Police of Sepahijala district, Rajib Sutradhar on Wednesday during a press briefing said that the misappropriation came to light during a routine reconciliation of collected fines. The discrepancy led to an internal investigation, which revealed that Debbarma had not deposited funds from eight challans.

Traffic Unit Inspector Amarjit Debbarma, who was responsible for the collection and deposit of the funds, initially claimed that he had submitted the amount. However, during the internal investigation, police investigation discovered that they had concealed the matter, and the funds were embezzled.

Police sources added that they have given him sufficient opportunity to return the money, but he failed to do so. For this misappropriation of government funds, the Bishalgarh police station registered a specific case against him and arrested him on Tuesday night.

A case was registered at Bishalgarh Police Station, and Debbarma was arrested and presented before the court, where police sought a three-day remand for further questioning.

Police are now probing whether others were involved in the financial irregularities in the Traffic unit of Sepahijala district.