SHILLONG: The banned outfit HNLC said that the incident of alleged extortion by the group, as reported in the media, is a fabricated story of the police in order to mislead the people.
It may be mentioned that the outfit has been accused of demanding Rs 13 crore prior to allegedly setting off a blast in a coke factory at Shallang. “The demand for Rs 13 crore from a factory, which is worth few lakhs, is illogical. The police should produce the demand note instead and make it public. It is against our policy to make financial demands without a letter head sealed and signed by the finance secretary. We are financially stable and have enough subscribers,” the HNLC said in a statement.
The outfit further said that the police are desperate to divert attention from the ‘benami’ transactions, which they have mastered by colouring the entire episode as an act of extortion.
It further alleged that the SIM card number, which was provided, seems to be planted by the police in order to support the complainant. A person identified as Dharambir Bansal, alias Dharmu, has been under HNLC scanner for some time because of his activities in and around Shallang area with the support of local MLA Gigur Myrthong, the statement said.
The HNLC questioned the involvement of Dharambir Bansal, who had filed an FIR on the incident when the owner of the factory was Robert Sohbar.
“If the factory belongs to Robert Sohbar then why would Dharambir Bansal file a complaint? Who is Dharambir Bansal? And what is his connection with Robert Sohbar? Can the police throw some light into this episode,” the HNLC said.
The outfit said that they have issued a ‘death penalty’ for Dharmu as of now for carrying out illegal activities in the region. “This (death penalty) goes out to all the non-tribal businessmen working in tandem with our locals. They are warned not to exploit our people and our resources,” it said.
