May 18: City police have decided to set up an anti-extortion cell to check the menace in this commercial hub of the Northeast.

A senior city police official said the cell would deal with complaints pertaining to extortion notes served by the militants and even screen demands for donations by various organisations for their religious and social events.

The official said extortion was assuming a new dimension with some local goons forming groups in various commercial localities such as Lakhtokia and Athgaon to collect hafta (bribes) from the traders.

“It is high time that we gave some special attention to this particular crime because it leads to several other criminal activities,” the police official said. He pointed out that extortion is the major source of sustenance for the insurgent groups and if this supply line could be cut, the problem could be solved to a large extent.

The easy money that extortion fetches is also luring many youths to form gangs of their own. “First they start by extorting neighbourhood shops and graduate into bigger things. Finally, when they are on the run with several police cases against them, they turn to insurgent outfits for shelter,” the official added.

He said the police had information that even some other organisations could be passing on a part of their collections to militant groups.

The official said it requires special orientation to deal with such a problem and the group of policemen who would comprise the cell would have to undergo specialised training.

The cell will open a 24-hour helpline and launch a drive to create awareness on the need to seek police help after an extortion note has been served.

The official said a few top surrendered Ulfa activists were also involved in running an extortion racket. He cited the example of Rs 1.75 lakh collected from a senior government official in the city early this year. A Sulfa leader was a suspect in the crime.

However, two persons ? Sanjib Krishna Deb Goswami and Adi Parekh ? arrested for forcibly taking the signature of the project co-ordinator of National Education Research and Development Programme, Subhendu Sarkar, on a blank cheque for fraudulent withdrawal at gunpoint in his office chamber at Gauhati Medical College Hospital in Bhangagarh, were “well established persons”.

Goswami, a businessman and Parekh, a chartered accountant are believed to be a Sulfa activist’s accomplices.

Jewellery shops at Lakhtokia downed shutters last week in protest against growing “extortion” by local goons. The thugs were demanding anything between Rs 500 and Rs 5,000 for organising a cultural programme.

Hundreds of traders and their employees had laid a siege to the Panbazar police station protesting police inaction. The police said outfits are now particularly targeting doctors and lawyers.