“It´s a huge risk to receive calls from unidentified numbers. We either receive threats or are asked to dole out donations,” said an industrialist from the Birgunj Industrial Corridor.[break]
Even teachers, village development committee (VDC) secretaries, and government employees are in the hit list of the armed outfits. Industrialists feel safe to switch their phones off rather than ignore calls.
“You are trapped once you talk to these criminal groups. If you refuse to pay donations, they plant bombs at the office gate. So, it´s better to switch off the phone,” says another industrialist.
The police on Monday night arrested two cadres of Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha, who had gone to plant bomb at the Apex Pharma in Parwanipur. The owner said that the group had demanded Rs 500,000. Similarly, two youths were injured while throwing bomb in Simara, Bara, on Tuesday morning.
Though JTMM (Jwala) has directed its cadres to stop extortion drive during the festive season, other armed groups in Tarai have intensified their criminal activities.
Extortion has become a major reason for killing in Tarai. “There are many armed groups. If one of them stops extortion, its members start to extort for another party,” said a teacher from Jitpur.
Kautilya Sharma, coordinator of the Samyukta Janatantrik Morcha had even announced a bounty of Rs 5,000 for disclosing the names of those involved in extortion drive organizing a press conference. The extortion drive continues unabated though.
The police, however, claim that entrepreneurs have not suffered so much due to extortion. “We have heard that some petty criminals are more into this extortion drive than bigger groups. We have received a few complaints of extortion threats,” said Superintendent of Parsa Police Subodh Ghimire.
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