DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 5 (MExN): The Ex-Parliamentarian Association of Nagaland (Ex-PAN) has called for disclosure of the name of the ex Nagaland MLA “or the culprit,” who according to The Times of India, was sold a piece or Rhino horn by a smugger from Assam.
According to the report, published on October 1 and carried by local dailies in Nagaland, “a businessman from Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, who was arrested for his involvement in rhino horn smuggling two days ago, told Kaziranga National Park authorities that he had sold a broken piece of horn to a former MLA in Nagaland in August.”
A press release from the President of Ex-PAN, Joshua Sumi said that the “news portal did not divulge the name of the buyer of the prohibited item.” It noted that transaction of such illegal business between the smuggler and the alleged Ex-MLA from Nagaland “may be correct or false as the matter has to be authenticated.”
The Ex-PAN urged that the “concerned media and the responsible officers in Assam must clear the suspense by disclosing the name of the Ex-MLA or the culprit whoever it is without hesitation or delay.”
“The non-divulgence of the identity of the culprit in Nagaland will compel the Ex-PAN to construe that those who were responsible for the news item have premeditated with ulterior motive against the Ex-legislators in Nagaland,” the Ex-PAN stated.
It stated that the “non-disclosure of identity of the buyer of the Rhino horn has badly implicated the community of the former legislators in Nagaland.” “Neither the concerned administrative authorities nor the news portal responsible for the publication of the very news item has the right to tarnish the image of the innocent former legislators,” it said.
It meanwhile stated that the association stands for preservation of flora & fauna and are “ardent supporter of those who guards and protects such national wealth.” It therefore urged the concerned authorities to book the culprits without delay.
