As President’s Rule commenced in Manipur on Friday (February 14, 2025), police officials said that the crackdown against extortion rings will be intensified in the coming days without “political interference”.
A senior government official told The Hindu that at least 60 people associated with underground outfits and radical armed groups have been arrested since February 1 and around 250 cadres have been arrested in the past six months for extortion-related activities.
“The drive against extortion is ongoing but now it will be intensified as police will be free from any kind of political meddling,” said the official.
Since ethnic violence erupted in the State on May 3, 2023, cases of extortion and abductions by armed groups has seen a rise.
On January 26, the Manipur Government established a dedicated Integrated Anti-Extortion Cell under the Home Department to deal with a “significant” law-and-order threat in the State.
The State government said that various individuals, including government officials, have been threatened with severe consequences via calls, messages, or letters from unlawful organisations if extortion demands are not met.
According to Manipur Police data, from February 1-14, at least 20 persons were arrested in Imphal West for extortion, 27 individuals were arrested in Imphal East, three arrests in Thoubal and four persons were arrested in Kakching.
A police official said they are also arresting persons who provide SIM cards to such gangs for making the calls. The official said that the SIMs are activated fraudulently by obtaining the fingerprints of an unsuspecting customer without his or her knowledge. “It is known as the black-activated SIM scam. When a customer purchases a SIM, his/her biometric is taken twice on the ground that the first attempt failed. The SIM obtained through the extra biometric (Aadhaar) authentication is then sold to the extortionists for making threat calls,” said the official.
On Thursday (February 13, 2025), Imphal East arrested Sanatonba Meitei (27) for selling the pre-activated SIM card on fake identity.
