Facing severe financial crunch, the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom has intensified extortion drive and served demand notes to a cross section of people in different parts of Assam.
Disclosing that victims are reluctant to report the cases to the Assam police, the security sources said that frequent phone calls and threat of Ulfa rebels for extortion money has created fear-psychosis among traders and business houses.
Referring specific instances, security sources said that a business house of Guwahati is being pressed for paying Rs 40 lakh by the central finance unit of Ulfa, which is operating from Bangladesh.
The demand note, a copy of which is with this newspaper, has been signed by Apurba Baruah, who heads the finance unit of Ulfa and operates from his hideout in Bangladesh. It was served a few days back through a courier at the premises of a business firm in the Fancy Bazar area of Guwahati. There are a number of traders in the Fancy Bazar who received similar demand notes but are reluctant to cooperate with the police, security sources pointed out, while regretting that the police have also failed in winning over the confidence of businessmen to encourage them to defy such extortion demands and report it to the police. The security sources admitted that traders prefer to pay the money after negotiation instead of going into confrontation with the rebel outfits.