TURA: Two organisations claiming to fight for rights and protection of the Garo community have found themselves in the eye of a storm over allegations of extortion.
A recently floated ‘social’ organisation by former militant leader of the Garo National Army, Champion R Sangma, lodged a police complaint accusing another organisation of extorting tax from trucks.
The A’chik Holistic Awakening Movement in the complaint alleged that members of the ADE ( Association for Democracy and Empowerment) led by it’s president Dalseng Bira Ch Momin had on April 3 extorted from drivers of dumper trucks that bring in raw materials into Garo Hills.
The organisation alleged that a sum of one thousand rupees was taken from each truck driver who were also threatened.
However, a counter FIR has been lodged by Masdin B Marak in which he alleged that AHAM members in two Bolero vehicles (ML08 8877 and ML08 8899) forcibly stopped his trucks in Jengjal area and threatened the drivers and demanded Rs 3000 from each truck.
Interestingly, there is a police station at Jengjal where the extortion allegations have surfaced.
