KHONSA, Jul 5: A joint team of state police and paramilitary forces arrested two persons on 3 July for allegedly running an extortion racket here in Tirap district.
The duo has been identified as Avilash Dutta and Ravi Chetry. They were running an extortion racket in the Khonsa market in the name of the NSCN, claiming themselves to be ‘Ravi Wangnow’ and his subordinate, for many days, the police said.
Their modus operandi was to make threat calls to businesspersons from different locations, using different SIM cards, having addresses of Dimapur in Nagaland.
Based on specific input, the team, comprising personnel of the Tirap police and the 6 Assam Rifles, raided a house and arrested Dutta. He led the police to the place where the SIM cards and ammunitions used to threaten the victims were kept.
The police recovered 85 detonators, 150 cms of detonator wire, and the mobile phone used for carrying out the extortion activities.
Dutta’s partner, Chettry was apprehended later. During police interrogation, the duo admitted to their crime.
The accused, the owner of the house, and other suspects are now in police custody here and cases have been registered against them under relevant laws.
While an extortion case and cases under the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act have been registered against the extortionist duo, a case under the Explosive Act has been registered against the owner of the house and others.
Avilash Dutta’s father, Tapan Dutta, who works as a contingency driver in the RWD in Longding, has also been arrested in connection with the finding of the materials used for making explosives.
Tirap SP Kardak Riba commended the police team, the Assam Rifles and the technical team of the PHQ who worked tirelessly to solve the case.
The SP appealed to the public, especially businesspersons, to lodge a complaint with the police and also inform the Assam Rifles if they receive any extortion call or notice. (DIPRO)
