The Food and Civil Supplies Minister of Manipur, Yumkham Erabot, has taken a serious view of the fresh rebel threat by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) to the transporters asking them not to lift essential commodities from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godown at Dimapur, Nagaland.
The NSCN (K) rebels had reportedly demanded Rs. 50 lakh as tax from the FCI officials at Dimapur. However, the officials declined to pay any illegal tax. As a result, the rebels had prevented the transporters from lifting the essential commodities from the godown and leave Dimapur.
Mr. Erabot had urged the Centre to take concrete steps in this regard since the extortion bid by the NSCN(K), a signatory to the ceasefire agreement signed in April 2001, amounted to flagrant violation of the ground rules. The Centre is understood to have asked the Nagaland government to intervene.
