Dimapur, May 17 (MExN): There might be a thousand reasons, but serving extortion notes by underground groups (through “information note” or “information slip”) and the payment of the same by the business community and the public has never been a new story in the Naga society. However, of late, citizens of Dimapur, especially businessmen are under a haze of confusion as to who “the original” or “duplicate” extortionists are that come demanding money.
Interestingly, most shopkeepers have begun to use jargon to describe extortionists who come to collect “taxes” from their shops: the one from Naga underground groups are the “original” ones while demands from non-underground elements collecting money in the name of underground groups are the “duplicate” ones. More interestingly, shopkeepers and business owners say they can now even make out who is “original” and who is “duplicate” by the way the person behaves and also through the extortion note.
“The original ones come very coolly, serve the information note and leave saying that they will come on an appointed day. But they never come on the exact day,” said a paan shop owner (who wished not to be named, of course!). “Most of them are my daily customers,” he said while informing that the individuals are agents of underground groups in fact.
The “duplicate” ones, the shopkeeper said, are always in a hurry and with an air of nervousness’ they demand money and vanish in no time. He disclosed that a leader of one of the NSCN factions even gave him a mobile number asking to call in case some “phulto manu” (a ‘no-good’) comes demanding money.
Another businesswoman running a small shop said two guys arrived at her shop and served a so-called “‘information note” demanding 2000 rupees as “yearly taxes”. As the note was not “sealed” with the seal of the Naga underground group in concern, she argued with them and negotiated that she would pay only 500 rupees. They agreed, she said, and informed that they would come after some days. But so far, they have failed to turn up.
The businesswoman informed that in the past years, the miscreants would come openly and serve the demand note of Rs 1000-1500. They would inform to come at an appointed day. And when they did, they come without even a semblance of secrecy or hiding – and even in cars. However, these people who came to her shop recently were serving the notes “secretly”; therefore she and others were quite suspicious whether they really were from an underground group.
“We have no option, we have to pay and we are waiting for them,” she conceded. One shopkeeper said the month of May is usually the time when they pay the “yearly taxes” to the myriad armed groups, and that other non-underground individuals might be also be taking advantage of this fact and extorting money.
Nonetheless, the suspicion of the business community has been aroused considering the regular press statements and claims from the various underground factions asking particularly the business community ‘not to entertain any “unauthorized taxes.” These ‘press statements’ even appeal to the shopkeepers to call up in case such incidents happen.
The business community has little time to call up as they fear for their lives, of course. The extortionists usually come armed or give the impression that they are armed with some weapon.
What the police say
The underground groups are even employing civilians, according to police officials. On May 12 last a civilian, one Samuel Aye of Litsami village was arrested by the Diphupar PS personnel while he was issuing “information notes” of “yearly taxes” to shopkeepers in the 4th Mile area. Police said he was entrusted by an underground group to collect the so-called “taxes”.
A senior Dimapur police official, when contacted, said that besides underground groups, there are also many individuals moving around the city claiming to be from one underground faction or the other.
Saying that the police have arrested a lot of these individuals apart from underground cadres over the past few months and even last year, the police official said the non-underground individuals even possess ‘country made’ arms. The police officer explained that they are not ‘organized’ criminals but simply operate for the sake of extracting some money from business establishments.
He also explained that most of the criminals are not necessarily hailing from Dimapur, but include people from other districts. They come and stay with their friends and relatives and commit extortion for easy money.
