Assam: Cops in state face heat as extortion cases go up

By migrator | May 14, 2018, 13:06 IST

GUWAHATI, May 14, 2018: Rampant extortion in areas on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border remains a major challenge for state police. allegedly run by cadres from Ulfa (Independent) and NSCN (K), these extortion groups are believed to take cover in the dense jungles in these areas to continue to evade the police net.

Police sources said there is even a suspicion that the group of Ulfa (I) militants involved in the killing of Assam Police official Bhaskar Kalita in Tinsukia recently was part of an extortion wing of the outfit.

A senior state police official said, "They (militants) use the dense jungles in the bordering areas to go deep into the forest areas on Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve in south Arunachal Pradesh, that also connects to the international borders of Myanmar on the other side."

In January, an operation carried out in the area had busted an Ulfa (I) hideout near the park. The militants were using it as a transit spot to carry out an extortion drive in Arunachal Pradesh's Miao area. Blank extortion notes, opium and other administrative stores were recovered from the hideout then.

"Over the years, due to constant counter-insurgency operations in the bordering areas of Assam-Arunachal Pradesh, Assam-Nagaland and the international border between India and Bhutan, militant outfits have suffered a lot. Food supplies to their hideouts have been disrupted. They (militants) carry out extortion drives for survival," state police sources claimed.

Police sources added that the extortion drives by the militants were not only confined to money but the ultras also took away food items, poultry stocks and medicines in many cases. In many instances, militants were found to have sent WhatsApp messages demanding money.
Extortion is so rampant in the state that between 2010 and 2017, at least 9,473 such cases were recorded in the state. Home department records highlight the rising trend of such cases over the years. "While there were some 909 extortion cases recorded in the state in 2010, the numbers shot up to 1361 in 2015 (the highest figure of these years). However, a slight dip started to show during last two years. Against registering some 1,295 extortion cases in 2016, the numbers went down further to 1,271 last year," the records said.
Though Assam Police have set up anti-extortion cells, the effect of these cells has reportedly not been felt. Manpower crunch and the burden of pending cases do not help. "An anti-extortion cell may sound great but the acute manpower crunch has led the idea to remain in a dormant mode. As long as the nexus between surrendered militants and other criminals is not dealt with strongly, the extortion rackets will remain active. Miscreants and ultras are nowadays even extorting money from people who are not affluent," a senior cop stated.
Featured image: mumbailive.com

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