By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Friday informed that she had received three threat messages from an unknown number while returning from her recent goodwill mission visit to Karnataka and Maharashtra as part of a State delegation.
Ampareen said the messages were received on her cell phone after she landed in Kolkata from Mumbai in the wee hours of August 27 and 28.
The lone woman legislator and Cabinet member was part of the three-member team led by Information and Public Relation Minister Abu Taher Mondal to Karnataka and Maharashtra which took stock of the situation in both states following the mass exodus of Northeastern students from those states.
“I received the first message at around 1:17am of August 27 from an unknown number who was referring to some old case in Maharashtra but the message was very confusing and I was unable to grab the point,” she informed on Friday.
Ampareen said she was least bothered when she received the first text message but was, however, annoyed when she received another message at around 1:52am on the same day.
“I was surprised since the sender addressed me by my name and asked me to think properly before visiting Karnataka and Maharashtra,” she said.
Disturbed by the messages, she replied to the number in the early morning of August 27 at around 7:23am saying – “My people were harassed and I will not allow other persons to do it.”
Again at around 7.59am, the same unidentified person replied to her message saying- “If you wanted to protect the people you are the one criminal of the Indian society.”
She, further, informed that after giving much thought to the last message, she replied back in the number at around 8.38 am with the message- “You are senile, people like you know so much hate…Why?”
“If these threatening messages were targeted at me just because I am a woman then I am not scared,” Ampareen told media persons here on Friday, while informing that after reaching Shillong on August 28, she immediately filed an FIR.
“The police should hunt this person before he creates a scare in the society,” the minister added.
Meanwhile, the State Police have said that investigations were on and a case had been registered under Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
“We are already on the job and we have sought details from all mobile service providers on the identity of the owner of the mobile number,” East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police M Kharkrang said.