SHILLONG: Despite the appeal of the Chief Minister Mukul Sangma to the splinter militant groups to come to the negotiating table, the Achick Songa An’pachakgipa Kotok (ASAK), a breakaway faction of GNLA, has demanded Rs 27 crore from seven staff of a construction company, which is engaged in completing the Shillong-Tura road via Nongstoin, West KhasI Hills.
According to police, the road construction firm BSC C&C IV has been served with demand notes allegedly by ASAK, operating mainly in Garo Hills.
Police reports said that one Nagraj Shet, Project Manager of BSC C&C IV lodged a complaint at Williamnagar police station that on May 31 evening, two unidentified persons in a motorcycle, served demand notes in the name of ASAK.
Those who received demand notes along with the specified amount include Rs 5 crore each to Project Manager, Deputy Project Manager, Rajiv Kumar Sinha who is the Assistant Manager (Administration) and Dharmendra Kumar Solanki who is the Deputy Manager (Works). The militants also served demand notes to three other persons associated with the firm, but their names and designations in the company are not available. They are Jibin Dey ( Rs 1 crore) Gipden ( Rs 5 crore) and Sathchin De (Rs 1 crore).
Sources said that the firm has been facing various hurdles to complete the project in time as extortion and theft of equipments have become the order of the day.
Moreover, there were also reports that a Nokma, who parted with his land after taking compensation for the construction of the project, was kidnapped by militants.
