Itanagar: Semley Hakhun, a “minister” of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) tasked with collecting revenue for the militant outfit in Changlang district, has been arrested by the Arunachal Pradesh Police.
Inspector-general of police (law and order) Chuku Apa said that Hakhun was arrested by a joint team of the SIT and Changlang police on March 25 while their Assam counterparts also assisted the team in the operation.
The special investigation team (SIT) was led by SP Rohit Rajbir Singh while SP Mihin Gambo headed the Changlang Police.
“Acting on credible intelligence input, our team reached Tinsukia, Assam on March 25 and managed to trace Hakhun’s hideout. He was later arrested by the team with the support of the Tinsukia police. An amount of Rs 2.18 lakh, two mobile phones and three sim cards have been recovered from him,” Apa said.
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There are at least two cases of extortion and criminal intimidation, one each at the Changlang and Itanagar police stations, against the NSCN-IM leader, the IG informed.
“One of the most-wanted insurgent leaders, Hakhun was responsible for carrying out major extortion activities on behalf of the NSCN-IM in the general area of the Tirap, Changlang and Longding region,” Apa said.
A native of Wanrok village in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar’s Kachin state, Hakhun joined the NSCN-K in 1986 and then the NSCN-IM in 2013, when he was promoted to the post of a “Tatar” (Member of Parliament). He was currently holding the post of a Kilonser (minister) for the NSCN (IM).
IGP Apa said Hakhun is being interrogated by the state police and he has so far revealed crucial information about the organisational structure and the activities of the NSCN-IM leadership.
“It is obvious that he was not working alone, and several others are involved in the extortion activities, and we are trying to find out the same. We have upped the ante against the criminal activities being carried out by the insurgents and now plan to work in a systematic way to target the core of the insurgency issue heads-on,” Apa said.
The IGP also appreciated the SIT and Changlang police for their effort and the Assam police for their support.
