Dimapur, April 25 (MExN): The Dimapur City Police Commissionerate, on Wednesday, stated that it achieved a “major breakthrough” on April 23 by cracking into the “nexus of MRP fraud /extortion” and arresting three persons.
The nexus has been had been ailing the citizens of Dimapur for quite sometimes, the police said.
A press release from the Commissioner of Police (CP), Dimapur, identified the arrested individuals as Khekato Zhimomi (35 years), Tatar NSCN (IM); Khukivi Aye (29 years), Leacy NSCN (IM); and Rabi Dey, a pan shop vendor in Sematilla colony, Dimapur.
As per the release, the modus operandi of these arrested scammers involved planting Maximum Retail Price (MRP) tagging devices and MRP tags in selected shops, orchestrated by the two cadres in collusion with Dey.
“Thereafter these shops are raided by NSCN (IM) cadres where the shop owners are charged with removing the original MRP and tagging inflated MRP on the items with the Price tagging devices,” it maintained.
Additionally, some shop owners were either abducted or summoned to their camps, where they were harassed, tortured, and coerced into making confessions videos of price tampering using price tagging devices, it said.
These confessions were then shared with news channels, and shop owners were “threatened with the release of videos on news channels/social media until their demands were met,” it added.
Investigations revealed that Dey, who is on Khekato’s payroll, procured five Price Tagging Devices & MRP Tags through online shopping, with one price tagging device seized from his shop, the police said.
Another three price tagging devices had already been used, and one more was expected to be delivered on April 27, it informed.
The police stated that through this modus operandi, the trio had “extorted a huge amount of money from several business owners in Dimapur.”
Accordingly, a suo moto case has been registered under relevant provisions of the law at East Police Station and West Police Station, respectively, and investigations are ongoing, it added.
The arrests are significant in light of the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (DCCI) recent highlighting of “own MRP stickers machines” by Naga Political Groups as one of the “unimaginable tactics” used to extort from the business community.
Eventually, the DCCI resolved to initiate an indefinite shutter down of all shops and business establishments in Dimapur with effect from April 26, citing “no end in sight to the unabated multiple taxation, intimidation, and summons.”
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