Letter warns of blasts in Iew Mawlong, Iewduh & Mawbah
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 26: A local businessman, choosing to remain anonymous, has alleged that he received a demand note from Synshar Khymdeit, who claimed to be the area collector of the proscribed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC).
The allegation was made in a letter addressed to Shillong Press Club President, Deimaia Siangshai. Although dated April 7, 2025, the letter was only recently received by Siangshai.
In the letter, the businessman noted that Khymdeit had previously addressed a press conference at the Shillong Press Club on August 1, 2023, where he denied any involvement in issuing demand notes on behalf of the HNLC.
The businessman recalled that this denial came a day after Khymdeit’s name surfaced in a vernacular newspaper report, in which a woman from Mawlai accused him of serving her with a demand note of Rs 20 lakh.
Prior to that, Khymdeit had also been named in similar reports identifying him as the HNLC’s area collector for East Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi.
The businessman disclosed that he first received a demand note on January 28, 2022, allegedly issued by two HNLC area collectors—Wallamjingsuk Barim and Synshar Khymdeit—demanding Rs 4.4 lakh as “tax money”.
Quoting the demand note, the businessman said it read: “Dear taxpayer, you are hereby informed that the last date for payment of annual income tax to the HNLC is 03.03.2022. As a new establishment, you are required to pay a tax amount of Rs 4.4 lakh. Please keep the money ready by the mentioned date to avoid any unpleasant consequences. You are also reminded that failure to cooperate will compel us to take other steps to recover the amount. If you inform the police, we will plant a bomb at your doorstep—you will lose your family and everyone you love. Trust us, we don’t joke. By the end of this month, we will bomb Police Bazaar to remind people like you that you don’t belong here. So, pay up or die.”
Fearing for his life, the victim admitted that he complied with the demand.
“Initially, I thought it was a bluff, but when an IED explosion actually occurred at Police Bazaar on January 30 that year, I had no choice but to comply. I arranged the money, and on March 3, 2022, a man identifying himself as Synshar Khymdeit came to collect it on behalf of the HNLC,” he said.
The businessman further revealed that exactly one year later, on March 3, 2023, the same individual returned to demand more money.
“He warned me that if I didn’t pay, the HNLC would ‘exterminate my entire family’. He even threatened that bomb blasts would occur in Iew Mawlong, Iewduh, and Mawbah in 2024, 2026, and 2028, respectively. Afraid that these threats might be real, I have now decided to come forward and share the entire ordeal with you,” the victim stated.
Following the second demand note, the businessman said he relocated his shop under a different name and shifted his family to his in-laws’ residence. He is currently living separately at an undisclosed location for safety.