SHILLONG, March 5: Meghalaya police on Tuesday said there have not been many official complaints of extortion by the proscribed HNLC except one.
However, information about demand notes served to many was found in the mobile phone of a recently arrested cadre of the outfit, Storgy Lyngdoh. “Nobody has reported (a complaint). We are only hearing it on social media. As of date, there is only one single report and we have acted on it,” said Deputy IGP (Training), CA Lyngwa.
On demand notes, Lyngwa said there are lot of people who indulge in such crimes, and one cannot point at any particular organisation.
Reminding about the recent arrest of an HNLC cadre, Storgy Lyngdoh, who had sneaked into Meghalaya from Bangladesh, she said it was learnt from his mobile phone that there has been a several extortions and demand notes served to many people.
Lyngwa however stated that Lyngdoh had not served a single demand note, only information was found on his phone. On reports that Storgy sneaked into Meghalaya to surrender, she said that the HNLC cadre was part of the peace negotiations.
She clarified that the police are not carrying out any operations against the HNLC, but if any person commits a crime, the law will take its own course.
Asked if steps have been taken to instil a sense of security among the people, Lyngwa said, “The police have worked endlessly and sacrificed many lives. The way the eastern part of the state is, as of today, you can see the amount of tourists coming in. It is because of the fact that the police have put in a lot of hard work and sacrifice, which should instil confidence”.
Asked about the strength of the HNLC, she said there are 30-40 cadres, while maintaining that they do not have information about the weapons they possess.
She also informed that there are 33 pending cases against the HNLC.
