The first threat to Manoj Poudel came over the cell phone number – 9803665373 – on Saturday from ´Devta´, Parsa district commander of Akhil Tarai Mukti Morcha. [break]
Indreni Mushroom, Hulas Infra and Hulas Iron Industries next up...
´Devta´ (real name not known yet) said Poudel had invited his wrath for not only refusing the money (Rs 200,000) that he had been asked to give but also revealing extortion to the police and media.
"The caller told me that he will eliminate me," Poudel told myrepublica.com.
Of late, extortion demands – and death threat for refusal to pay these -- have been increasing in the Tarai.
No one answers call from unknown number.
"It has been months since I answered call from an unknown number," said a principal of a private boarding school in Jitpur. He too received threats over his life after an armed group approached him for extortion using several cell phones. "If the phone rings, I fear about the unknown."
Rush for nom de guerre
There´s been growing trend to adopt fashionable nom de guerre by commanders and cadres of mushrooming armed groups in the Tarai who the police say are involved in crimes – from petty to serious ones.
The names range from high-sounding threatening ones – Jwala (volcano) Singh, Nagraj (king cobra), Bisphot (explosion) Singh and Toofan (storm) Singh – to people to those that are aimed at influencing the cadres like Mr John and Shahanshah (emperor).
Shahanshah of Tarai Army has owned responsibility for bomb blast in Rautahat on Sunday that claimed the lives of two people. Two other injured people are undergoing treatment at Narayani Sub-regional hospital in Birgunj.
