Shillong, July 23: The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) on Monday issued a strong warning against those misusing the name of the outfit for extortion.
Reacting to news reports about several businessmen in Khasi and Jaintia Hills getting extortion letters, HNLC said it was trying to find out the source of these fake letters.
It also maintained that it was not involved in these activities “as a mark of respect to the Centre and state governments”.
The demand notes were either served by M Rynjah, who claimed to be the outfit’s finance secretary, or by Synshar Khymdeit as area collector (East Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi) of the outfit. The demand ranges from Rs 15-18 lakh.
HNLC’s general secretary-cum-publicity secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw said the extortion notes are the handiwork of miscreants and that the undersigned persons are not part of HNLC.
“This is a serious matter and the HNLC warns anybody using the outfit’s name just for extortion. If found then the HNLC will be compelled to take action as it corrupts the sole nature of the ongoing peace talks,” Nongtraw said in a statement.
Stating that the same types of cases had also surfaced in the past, Nongtraw said that he suspected that it could be a plan to derail the ongoing peace process.
“As the peace talks are progressing forward it could also be a step towards derailing the entire process by people having vested interests,” he said and sought police action against those involved.
