In a series of raids conducted in various departments of the Nagaland government, the National Investigative Agency (NIA) has found striking evidence suggesting that the state funds were transferred to certain rebel outfits, including the banned National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang).
The January 18 search by the NIA officials surfaced after S Khetoshe Sumi — a senior cadre of the NSCN (K), who was arrested on July 31 by the Assam Rifles in Dimapur, Nagaland and handed over to the Nagaland police a day after — revealed the existence of a financial nexus.
Sumi, who was the in-charge of the financial wing for the Kohima and Dimapur regions, reportedly said that his main responsibility included the collection of funds for the outfit through illegal taxation from various government departments.
Building additional leads from the October raid, the January 18 probe was conducted by the NIA in the other government offices in Kohima. During these searches, a large volume of incriminating papers and documents were recovered, which proves fund transfer from various government departments to several underground outfits, including the NSCN (K).
This apprehension prima-facie indicates the involvement of these government organizations in funding of the various underground outfits operating in and around Nagaland.
Few days ago, in a similar case, NIA probed into allegations of terror funding which was allegedly taking place through the Line of Control (LOC) trade routes, in which several employees of the Trade Facilitation Centres (TFCs) in Jammu and Kashmir were questioned.
