NEW DELHI, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Police in the Indian state of Assam said Tuesday the rebel United Front for the Liberation of Assam served extortion notices to engineers in the state.
Hira Sarania, commander of ULFA's 709 battalion, signed the note that asked recipients to pay the demanded amount within a week, a state police spokesman said. The demand note warned recipients of dire consequences if they failed to pay, the spokesman said.
While confirming the reports, security agencies said government officers were reluctant to lodge formal complaints with the police. According to a senior state security official, most of the junior engineers with the Assam Public Works Department have begun consulting mediators secretly to negotiate extortion amounts with local ULFA leaders. Security agencies did not rule out the possibility that many government employees paid the money. The police said it did not have any concrete evidence, however.
