by Jaideep Mazumdar
An NIA probe revealed that Zeliang was personally involved inward the collection of ‘taxes’ on behalf of the NSCN(K), amongst the state’s plow over officers allegedly collecting crores of rupees from authorities officials together with businessmen together with routing the coin to the terror outfit. Former Nagaland main government minister T R Zeliang, on whose behalf the Christian church building together with clergy campaigned vigorously for the assembly polls held final month, is probable to survive arrested past times the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his purpose inward funding Naga terror outfits similar the due south S Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K). The NIA has been probing the purpose of politicians, bureaucrats together with others – including so-called ‘Church elders’ – inward funding the NSCN(K) together with another Naga terror outfits.
An NIA probe revealed that Zeliang was personally involved inward the collection of ‘taxes’ on behalf of the NSCN(K), amongst the state’s plow over officers allegedly collecting crores of rupees from authorities officials together with businessmen together with routing the coin to the terror outfit. Former Nagaland main government minister T R Zeliang, on whose behalf the Christian church building together with clergy campaigned vigorously for the assembly polls held final month, is probable to survive arrested past times the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his purpose inward funding Naga terror outfits similar the due south S Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K). The NIA has been probing the purpose of politicians, bureaucrats together with others – including so-called ‘Church elders’ – inward funding the NSCN(K) together with another Naga terror outfits. This ongoing NIA probe is a corollary to the master investigation into the June 2015 ambush on an Indian Army convoy inward Manipur’s Chandel district that caused the decease of twenty soldiers. The ambush was carried out past times the NSCN(K), which had abrogated its ceasefire amongst the Government of Republic of Republic of India inward March that year, a calendar month earlier it was scheduled to come upward up for renewal. The NIA probe into the ambush opened upward a tin of worms together with revealed the well-known surreptitious of politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen together with others openly collecting funds on behalf of Naga terror groups together with likewise getting hefty commissions for their services.
The NIA probe, according to plow over officers of the agency, has revealed that Zeliang was personally involved inward collection of ‘taxes’ on behalf of the NSCN(K). He had reportedly facilitated the collection together with extortion of funds for the proscribed terror outfit, together with had used his offices to route funds to the outfit. The NIA had summoned him a few weeks ago, but he has been avoiding the summons on diverse pretexts. Ultimately, realising that he could no longer avoid beingness questioned past times the NIA, he appeared earlier the means final weekend but requested that he survive questioned at his residence since he is a senior citizen. The means is examining the plea, which is quite a specious ane since his ‘senior citizen’ condition had non stopped him from travelling, assist purpose together with campaigning intensively inward the elections.
Till now, the NIA has arrested 10 Nagaland authorities officers, some of them quite senior, for collecting funds for the NSCN(K) together with other terror outfits. The latest arrests were inward the final calendar week of March together with the managing director of agriculture, an executive engineer of the rural evolution directorate together with an accounts officeholder inward the urban evolution directorate were taken into custody past times the NIA. They had allegedly collected crores of rupees from authorities officials together with businessmen together with routed the same to the NSCN(K). In Oct final year, 4 officers – a onetime managing director of tourism, an additional managing director of agriculture, a articulation managing director of irrigation subdivision together with a cashier of the fisheries subdivision – were arrested on the same charges. These arrests were preceded past times the arrests of 3 to a greater extent than – a articulation managing director of the social welfare department, together with a articulation managing director together with cashier of the Blue Planet resources subdivision – inward Apr final year.
The NIA had made the arrests on the reason of documents, including need letters together with payment receipts, seized during raids carried out inward thirteen authorities offices inward Jan final yr together with the subsequent interrogation of officers. The NIA probe has set bare a real efficient together with streamlined ‘tax collection’ system, where ‘taxes’ to survive paid to terror outfits, were fifty-fifty beingness deducted earlier disbursement inward many cases. The ‘terror tax’ ranged from xv per cent to 24 per cent. The Isak-Muivah led faction of the NSCN (or the NSCN-IM) likewise collects ‘tax’ from authorities officers together with it is reported that everyone, from a peon to the senior-most bureaucrat, has to pay a share of his or her salary to the terror outfits.
It is non simply authorities officials who remove keep to pay such taxes. Businessmen likewise remove keep to pay a substantial share of their earnings to the outfits which remove keep total cognition of the earnings due to their sources inward the sales together with income taxation departments. Contractors remove keep to pay every bit much every bit 25 per cent of the contract amounts to the terror outfits fifty-fifty earlier labor the works. For instance, if a contractor bags a Rs 1 crore contract for constructing a road, he has to pay Rs 25 lakh to the diverse outfits –which the Nagas themselves telephone telephone ‘Naga political groups’ – earlier starting the construction. Often, the amount is to a greater extent than than 25 per cent of the contract amount, together with this is inward add-on to the coin paid to the officers of the department, who ane time to a greater extent than remove keep to pay a share of the bribes to the terror outfits. No wonder, then, that Nagaland has such wretched roads together with populace infrastructure.
“It is ironical that the Indian taxpayer genuinely funds these terror outfits that wage a state of war on the Indian state. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 huge amount of funds allocated to Nagaland for evolution works, social welfare projects, salaries together with pensions together with other heads are siphoned off past times the militant groups. We remove keep recovered plenty evidence over the decades that bear witness the interest of non entirely plow over politicians, bureaucrats together with civil lodge leaders, but virtually all sections of society, inward this extortion racket. Everyone inward Nagaland, fifty-fifty the police, remove keep to pay ‘taxes’ to the militant outfits,” said a senior Army officeholder posted at the Army’s 3 Corps headquarters at Rangapahar inward Dimapur.
Documents seized over the decades past times safety together with investigative agencies, including the Army, demonstrate the interest of fifty-fifty the Christian church building inward this widespread extortion racket. “The church building likewise collects coin on behalf of the terror outfits together with routes the amount collected to them, but likewise benefits from the extortion since it gets to retain a share of the center collected for its activities, including evangelization,” said an Army officeholder who is on deputation to the Assam Rifles together with posted at the Assam Rifles (North) headquarters inward Kohima. This officer, who is likewise tasked amongst intelligence gathering, said that nearly a quarter of the state’s budget goes to diverse militant outfits of the state.
“All authorities officials, from plow over to bottom, used to remove keep their salaries deducted at source earlier disbursement. Now, afterward the organization of electronic transfers was introduced, Nagaland authorities officials pay the amounts inward cash. There are designated persons inward each subdivision together with purpose who collect the sums on behalf of the militant groups together with these people likewise have a commission. Many politicians likewise collect these ‘taxes’ from businessmen together with others. The militant groups remove keep ‘overground’ workers, ordinarily office-bearers of their frontal bodies or relatives of the top-ranking militants, who together with so accept the coin collected together with ship it to the outfits using diverse channels,” the Assam Rifles officeholder said.
The Assam Rifles officeholder cited the illustration of Shelly Sumi, married adult woman of NSCN(K) commander Niki Sumi, who had been arrested past times the forcefulness inward Apr final yr at Karong inward Manipur’s Senapati district amongst Rs 18.47 lakh inward cash. But she got bail from a local court, which likewise ordered the amount to survive returned to her. “The lower judiciary inward Nagaland together with Manipur, particularly the loma areas of Manipur that are inhabited past times tribes that telephone telephone themselves Nagas, is severely compromised,” remarked the Assam Rifles officer. Surveillance on Shelly Sumi has revealed that many politicians, bureaucrats together with businessmen are inward regular touching amongst her together with deposit the ‘taxes’ they collect from others amongst her. Niki Sumi, incidentally, is the prime number defendant inward the June 2015 ambush.
The church building inward Nagaland is a powerful entity together with has real rigid together with intimate links amongst the terror outfits. Church groups displace for the outfits together with oft deed at their behest. “We suspect that the NSCN(K) wanted Zeliang to retain ability since he (Zeliang) is their human being together with they would remove keep been able to grow stronger amongst him every bit the main minister. The NSCN(K) hence asked the Baptist Church to launch a displace against Zeliang’s opposition (the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP-NDPP combine, which won the polls nonetheless),” said an NIA officer. The Nagaland Baptist Church Council had issued a highly communal appeal to voters to “choose betwixt the trishul together with the cross” (also read this article). It is a unlike affair that the church building veto failed to brand an impact.
Zeliang’s links amongst the terror outfits came to lite final yr itself. The NIA probe reportedly revealed that he (Zeliang) was inward unopen touching amongst the NSCN(K). Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 key intelligence means endorsed this finding. This, say many, was the argue behind the BJP breaking its alliance amongst Zeliang together with the NPF together with deciding to bring together hands amongst the newly-launched Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP). Zeliang, if arrested, would gear upward the ignominious tape of beingness the showtime someone who held the post service of main government minister to survive arrested inward a terror funding case.
Jaideep Mazumdar is an associate editor at Swarajya.
Buat lebih berguna, kongsi:
