By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 7: Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Home (Police) Prestone Tynsong on Thursday urged businessmen, shopkeepers, and citizens not to remain silent if they receive extortion threats allegedly linked to the banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) and appealed to them to immediately inform the police or the government.
He said the government recently discussed the issue and stressed that those receiving such messages should not hesitate to lodge FIRs or bring the matter to the notice of the authorities. He said people could approach police stations, police outposts, the district police headquarters, or even contact him directly.
Tynsong maintained that the government was committed to ensuring that everybody remains safe and is able to carry out business peacefully, adding that any such information shared with the police would be acted upon.
Referring to questions over the absence of suo motu police actions, he said it was a separate issue and pointed out that authorities may not know whether threatening messages had been received weeks earlier if the victims chose not to report them until the matter surfaced publicly.
Tynsong appealed to citizens not to be intimidated by threats from militant groups or criminals. He said people should not be scared whether the threat came from the HNLC, thieves, crooks, or any other criminals, asserting that the government would deal firmly with such elements.
His appeal followed reports that the banned HNLC has allegedly been circulating extortion notices through WhatsApp to shopkeepers and businessmen in Shillong, demanding payment of what the outfit described as “income tax”.
According to reports, traders were allegedly given deadlines to pay amounts running into lakhs of rupees and were threatened with consequences if they failed to comply.
When contacted, Vivek Syiem said no FIR has yet been filed in connection with the alleged extortion drive. He, however, acknowledged that the police were aware of the WhatsApp-based extortion demands.
