[ Bengia Ajum ]
LONGDING, 17 Apr: Just days ahead of the 2024 assembly and parliamentary elections, the shadow of NSCN militants looms large here.
On Tuesday evening, Sangam Wangsu, the gram parishad chairperson (GPC) of Pumao, belonging to the BJP, was reportedly abducted by militants from his village. The police were informed about it, and effort to trace him was immediately launched.
As per local sources, Wangsu returned home on Wednesday evening. It is not clear where he was taken and which group was involved in his abduction.
Earlier, a letter, allegedly issued by Peyong Wangsa, a self-styled major general of the NSCN (K-YA), to the Longkhao village council, urging the people to support NPP candidate Thangwang Wangham surfaced, creating panic among the voters.
“In the upcoming Indian general election under your esteemed constituency, all the people/voters in the village/town are mandatory to support Shri Thangwang without fail. In this upcoming election, Shri Thangwang must win the election. Henceforth, there will be a strict action to anyone who doesn’t support him,” the letter read.
However, NPP candidate Thangwang Wangham has clarified that he has not given consent to anyone to write such a letter on his behalf.
“I want to make it unequivocally clear that I do not know about, nor have I given consent to, the creation or circulation of this letter. The content of the letter may have been their decision alone. I completely disown this letter and any potential consequences arising from it,” stated Wangham.
Further, he urged the voters of 59-Longding-Pumao constituency to exercise their adult franchise with true conscience and sound mind. “Each voter should make their decision based on their assessment of the candidates and their platforms, without any external influence. I urge all residents of Longkhaw village and the wider constituency to uphold the integrity of our democratic system by rejecting any attempts to manipulate or coerce their voting decisions,” he added.
