Silchar, Dec. 18: The Dima Halam Daoga (DHD) has served ?tax notices? on some tea gardens in Cachar district, raising doubts about the genuineness of the outfit?s promise to call a halt to violence and extortion.
A senior police official said the DHD recently contacted executives of tea estates in Lakhipur sub-division and Udarbond block over phone and then mailed typed letters specifying the amount of money they were expected to contribute to the outfit?s coffers.
Planters? unions admitted to being aware of the development, but declined to name the recipients of demand notices or the amount of money they had been asked to pay.
At least three gardens in the district are believed to have received such notices over the past seven days. Sources said the DHD had demanded a cumulative amount of Rs 75 lakh from two of these gardens, owned by a Calcutta-based company.
News of the DHD?s fresh extortion drive has sent executives of gardens in the remote areas into a tizzy. All police stations and outposts along Cachar?s border with the N.C. Hills have been put on maximum alert.
Intelligence officials, however, said the extortion drive might not be the handiwork of ?genuine DHD members?.
Barely a couple of weeks after the DHD leadership sent feelers to the Centre about their willingness to sit for talks, members of the militant outfit had killed a soldier and seriously injured nine at Eight Mile point between Umrangshu and Doyangmukh in N.C. Hills district.
The militants were headed for Umrangshu to extort money from officials of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation when they were confronted by an army team. On being asked to drop their weapons, the rebels opened fire, killing a jawan.