Itanagar: An extortionist claiming NSCN KYA cadre Rocky Thapa arrested from Sukhna, West Bengal in a coordinated action of Tirap district Police and Darjeeling Police.
For the past few months, district police was receiving inputs about series of telephonic extortions in Tirap district originating from two repeated phone numbers. The calls were made under the name of SS Capt Rocky Thapa, claiming affiliation with NSCN (K-YA).
The demands included seeking assistance from political leaders before elections and requesting rice bags for NSCN (K-YA) party members in Tirap. In this regard, a fresh suo-motu case was registered vide FIR No. 14/2023 U/S 384/506 IPC R/W 10/13 UAP Act in PS Khonsa on 30/08/2023.
After an in-depth investigation, we managed to trace the individual responsible to Sukhna, near Darjeeling, West Bengal. The accused was apprehended yesterday by a joint effort from Tirap Police and Darjeeling Police.
After investigation it was found that the main name of the accused was Karim Khan. He used the name of Rocky Thapa for illegal activities.
Khan is the resident of Lalpahar Tipong Gaon of Tinsukia district according to his present address but orginally he was born and brought up in Arunachal Pradesh Khonsa.
Meanwhile, police have recovered mobile phone and simcards used in extortion and bank account and pasbook.
“The accused, a former resident of Khonsa town, had a criminal record with involvement in five cases. He exploited the name of Rocky, someone he encountered while incarcerated at Khonsa Jail in 2020. Since his release in April 2021, he had been using Rocky’s identity for extortion. He has so far admitted to extorting more than 2 lakhs rupees. Further investigation is ongoing,” said Tirap police in a press statement.
The Tirap police team was led by DySP Togum Gonggo and Sub-inspector Sheychin Chena and received excellent support from Darjeeling police with coordination done by Tirap SP Rahul Gupta. The case is a good example of inter-state police coordination.