NIA probes large-scale extortion, illegal tax collection by NSCN-K, arrests 3 senior Nagaland govt officials

New Delhi: The NIA has arrested three senior Nagaland government officials in connection with its probe into alleged funding of terror groups such as the NSCN-K by defrauding the state exchequer, the agency said. Director of the Directorate of Agriculture G Ikuto Zhimomi, Executive Engineer in the Directorate of Rural Development  Ketouzo Peseyie and Divisional Accounts Officer of the Directorate of Urban Development Sangtemchuba have been arrested from Dimapur, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesperson said. The three officers were posted in Kohima and will be produced before a special court on Monday, he said. The case pertains to allegations of large scale extortion and illegal tax collections on behalf of the banned terrorist organisation National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) from various government organisations and others in Dimapur and Kohima. The NIA said this illegal activity was being carried out under the directions of the self-styled Brigadier Isac Sumi of NSCN-K and other senior cadres of the outfit. [caption id=“attachment_4363215” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] These officials, the spokesperson said, in their official capacity provided substantial amount to NSCN-K by way of contributing government funds to the banned outfit, thereby supporting it in its unlawful activities. “The officials were arrested for paying huge amount of money to various underground factions such as NSCN-K, NSCN-R, Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN), Naga National Council (NNC) and others from 2012-2016,” the spokesperson said. “The facts were revealed during the scrutiny of the official documents including demand letters and payment receipts which were seized during the search operation carried out at 13 government offices in January 2017,” he said. The agency had also arrested two NSCN-K cadres in this case earlier. The documents seized from the accused and their interrogation revealed the involvement of the government officials in paying large sums of money to the tune of crores to the various terrorist factions, the spokesperson said.