Jorhat Police probe ULFA-I's alleged crypto-based extortion letter; outfit denies
Meanwhile, ULFA-I has denied the allegations of extortion in a press statement released on Sunday.
Multiple businessmen in Jorhat received extortion letters demanding “donations” of ₹3 lakh for the outfit's
Jorhat, Oct 28: The banned outfit United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) is reportedly engaging in high-tech extortion by utilising cryptocurrency, raising alarms among local businessmen.
This development emerged after multiple businessmen in Jorhat received extortion letters demanding “donations” of ₹3 lakh for the outfit's “special purposes”.
The letters, allegedly signed by one Ashim Asom, who claims to be a captain of the outfit, instructed recipients to make payments via cryptocurrency wallet in Ethereum by October 27. Notably, each letter included unique crypto wallet addresses for the transactions.
“Due to some special purpose, we need contributions from your organisation. We hope the sum of the said contributions will be sent to the organisation at the following crypto wallet address…” reads one of the letters obtained by The Assam Tribune.
The letters issued a stern warning, advising recipients “not to create any complications that might harm the outfit”.
In response, the Jorhat police have taken suo-motu cognizance of the issue and registered a case (466/24) against the outfit. However, police officials declined to provide further details about the investigation when contacted.
Meanwhile, ULFA-I has refuted the claims of alleged extortion in a press statement released on Sunday, stressing that there is no member by the name of Ashim Asom within their ranks. The outfit has also clarified that the extortion letters did not originate from them.
“Previously, there have been many examples of miscreants using the name of ULFA-I to extort money from people and getting arrested. So, we request the business community not to cooperate with this conman named Ashim Asom,” the statement read.
