NSCN-K (Niki) rebuts Dimapur Police, calls abduction claim ‘fabricated’

The NSCN-K (Niki) organization has issued a rejoinder refuting the Dimapur Police’s clarification regarding the alleged abduction case, calling the police’s version a “fabricated and false” attempt to mislead the public. The group asserted that their cadres intercepted a vehicle based on an informant’s tip-off about a contraband consignment and denied allegations of kidnapping for ransom.

In a statement released today, the NSCN claimed that on March 22, their members received information from the driver of a vehicle (Regd. No. AS01PC-6016) about contraband sunflower being transported from Manipur to Assam. The driver allegedly asked the NSCN members to intercept the vehicle near Raju Dhaba, Pherima while they were having their meal. Acting on this tip, NSCN members intercepted and recovered the contraband Sunflower, the statement said.

The group stated that on March 25, Dimapur Police arrested four of its members, along with the informer (driver) and two passengers Imran Hussian and Jahirul Islam—who were accused of smuggling drugs. The NSCN alleged that while its members were in custody at Diphupar Police Station, police officials assured their release in exchange for handing over the contraband sunflower.

According to the statement, “the 4 NSCN members while being kept in police custody at Diphupar Police Station; the police enquired about the whereabouts of the contraband sunflower and assured the NSCN members that four of them (NSCN) would be released once the contraband sunflower was handed over to the police”.

“One of the arrested NSCN member in police custody contacted NSCN members to handover the contraband sunflower to the police for their release,” it said.

Acting on the assurance from the Police, the NSCN claimed that the NSCN members requested IUTO (P.A to Advisor, Government of Nagaland) to facilitate the handing over of 25 soap cases of contraband sunflower to the police.

“In pursuance to the request, Mr IUTO contacted ACP East Dimapur and informed him about the incident/case whereby ACP East Dimapur asked one of his junior officers to collect the 25 soap cases of contraband sunflower from Nagarjan, Dimapur on date 26/03/25. The Junior Officer received the contraband from Mr. JUTO on behalf of ACP East Dimapur,” the statement continued.

However, it claimed that inspite of the cooperation from NSCN, the 4 arrested NSCN members were not released.

The group further accused the police of threatening Iuto to retract his involvement and questioned the credibility of the police’s claims. They also rejected Dimapur Police’s assertion that statements from the arrested members constituted valid evidence, arguing that confessions “extracted with the use of physical and mental torture under their custody is not admissible in their courts”.

“The Dimapur police resorting to character assassination in their fabricated clarification containing lies and deceits is outrageous and deserves to be condemned; people are not foolish enough to believe their lies and deceits,” the statement read.

The group also challenged Dimapur Police to produce credible evidence and expressed willingness for a joint fact-finding investigation under the Chairman of the Cease-Fire Supervisory Board (CFSB).

Dimapur Police had earlier dismissed NSCN-K (Niki)’s claims as “baseless” and a deliberate attempt to mislead the public. In a press note, the police stated that a complaint had been received on March 24 about the abduction of two individuals from Raju Dhaba, Pherima, who were allegedly transporting ginger from Manipur. According to the police, the victims were taken to an undisclosed location where the kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of ?30 lakh, later reduced to ?8 lakh.

The police, upon investigation, arrested four accused from Toluvi along with the rescued victims. While the accused claimed that the victims were drug smugglers, no contraband was found in their possession or at the location where they were held. The police also seized a silver Maruti 800 used in the alleged crime.

Furthermore, Dimapur Police stated that one of the arrested persons, Hushika Kiba, a Leacy of NSCN-K (Niki), was also wanted in another case under West Police Station. They maintained that all factions have been repeatedly reminded to hand over any narcotics to law enforcement rather than taking the law into their own hands.

MT