Truck drivers worried over rising extortion threats in Nagaland - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The rising cases of extortion in Nagaland's Dimapur District have become a threat to the security of the truck drivers, who ply across the border. In a recent case, about 70 Manipur bound trucks transporting food items of Food Corporation of India (FCI) were forced to strand at Dimapur by suspected cadres of National Socialist Council of Nagaland - Khaplang (NSCN-K), and they reportedly demanded Rs 5,00,000. The drivers claimed that the state government has failed to provide security to them. "We do not have any security. Whenever, whoever can ask for money from us. We are helpless and can do nothing but to give them money," said Mohammed Bachu, a driver. Several transport bodies of the state have been demanding proper maintenance of roads of the national highways and deployment of the Highway Protection Forces to prevent such incidents. The drivers said that the state government is providing police escorts only to some selected categories of the transport like oil and LPG tankers. "The essential commodity carriers are yet to receive such protection along the inter-state highways," added the drivers. The police said that they are doing their best to deal with the situation. "The problem is if these would have been Nagas only, we would have identified easily. We can identify Nagas doing that but Nagaland is undergone insurgency from other states. People from other states are also operating here," said Dimapur Additional Superintendent of Police I. Rao. "We cannot identify them, we are trying our best and in some cases we are successful and now I can say it is truly minimised," he added. As per the data available with the District Police, 162 extortion cases were registered in 2009 alone, and 263 people were arrested. According to the data available with the district police, 162 extortions were registered in 2009 alone, and 263 people were arrested, whereas in 2010 (till March 31), eight cases were reported and eleven people were arrested.