SHILLONG, June 1 – ‘Fake militant’ groups are involved in most of the cases of extortion in Meghalaya, and not necessarily the ‘real’ banned outfits, State director general of police L. Sailo has revealed. “Groups of petty criminals are trying to exploit the situation in the State and extorting money from businessmen in the name of banned outfits,” the police chief told The Assam Tribune in Shillong on Monday. “Such small-time extortion bids by petty criminals have always been carried out not only in Meghalaya but throughout the country,” Sailo said. The police have nabbed quite of few of these criminals, including even non-tribals, carrying out extortion in the state in the name of tribal militant outfits, he added.
“Extortion has become a lucrative business providing an easy way for criminals to make money. It is almost like a cottage industry!” the DG said in a lighter vein. “However, the situation is definitely not alarming and completely under control,” the DG assured. Denying reports in a section of the press that the banned Khasi Hills-based Hynnietrew National Liberation Council (HNLC) has renewed its extortion bids after lying low for a considerable period of time, Sailo said: “There is no evidence to suggest this and nothing in this regard has been brought to our notice.”
“The strength of the HNLC has been drastically reduced due to sustained anti-insurgency operations by the police and security forces. The outfit has only about 100 odd cadres in its camps located in Bangladesh, where its top leaders are also hiding,” Sailo further informed. Dwelling on the insurgency-ravaged Garo Hills, Sailo said some “splinter groups” of the banned A’chik National Volunteers’ Council (ANVC) have been engaged in extorting money from businessmen, even as he maintained that the situation was well within control of the law enforcing agencies.
It may be mentioned here that both the HNLC and the ANVC have time and again warned of dire consequences to those carrying out extortion in the name of the outfits, but to no avail. Deserters of the banned organisations have been mostly involved in cases of petty extortion in the Khasi-Jaintia and Garo Hills of the State.