Kohima, June 19: First it was encroachment. This time aro-und, it is an extortion threat from militants. With Naga militants demanding money from hospital authorities, the referral hospital at 4th Mile, Dimapur, is in trouble again.

Both factions of the NSCN have served demand notes to the Christian Institute of Health and Science Research, the only 500-bedded referral hospital, which is yet to be fully functional.

The Khaplang group of the NSCN has demanded five per cent of the total cost of the ongoing project, while the hospital authorities preferred to remain tightlipped on how much the Isak-Muivah faction has demanded.

A source said that as the total amount from both the underground groups was nearly Rs 20 crore, the hospital had expressed its inability to meet the demands of the two underground groups and had even thought of abandoning the project. According to reliable sources, the matter has been settled between the NSCN (I-M) and the hospital following the initiative of the Nagaland government and Lt Gen. (retd) R.V. Kulkarni, chairman of the Ceasefire Monitoring Group.

But, it is not known how much the hospital has paid the outfit. “Finance minister” of NSCN (K), Kughalu Mulatonu, told The Telegraph this afternoon that they had served a letter to the hospital authorities but did not disclose the total amount.

He, however, said that following the intervention by Gen. Kulkarni, he had directed the “deputy finance minister” to negotiate with the hospital authorities. He said that unlike NSCN (I-M), the Khaplang group was not a “money-minded organisation”.

The referral hospital has been in the news for several reasons, the most recent one being uncontrolled encroachment and theft of construction materials.