Guwahati: The ULFA (I) has launched a fresh drive to collect money from tea planters and businessmen in upper Assam.
Sources said Paresh Baruah-led proscribed outfit ULFA (I) has served extortion notices to the management of tea gardens, coal traders, timber merchants and other businessmen.
Sources said following a directive of the commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, the over-ground cadres of the outfit have served extortion notice to the traders in upper Assam.
Through the notice the banned outfit has demanded huge amount of money from the traders, said a source.
The source further said many traders have apprised the police of the demand notes received by them.
Traders from Golaghat, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Dibrugarh and Tinuskia districts in upper Assam have received extortion notices from ULFA (I).
According to sources, even top leaders of the outfit have made phone calls to some traders seeking funds for the insurgent group.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said that the state government is trying to bring the ULFA (I) led by Paresh Barua to the negotiation table but the progress has been slow.
“Though communication with ULFA (I) is alive, the progress has not been the way we were expecting,” CM Sarma said.