Kohima, March 12: A video of what appears to be a scene of extortion in broad daylight at a fuel outlet in Kohima town by a couple of unidentified gunmen has gone viral on social media since Saturday.
The outlet is located at the New Secretariat Road.
The video was supposedly shot from a mobile phone by someone waiting in a queue to refuel their vehicle.
Sources from the police said that the incident occurred two days ago at around 9 am.
However, when the police was alerted and arrived at the scene, the working staffers at the petrol pump reportedly claimed that the gunmen had ‘only asked for help.’ By claims, they were ‘travelling and ran out of fuel and cash’ and the staffers had ‘given 11 litres of petrol’ and Rs. 2,000 cash "willingly". "They did not force us. We just helped them," a staff member was quoted as having claimed.
In the video, a person is seen with a gun partially hidden under a shawl; he appeared to be shouting at some of the crew at the station.
Police sources say that the gun appears to be an AK-47, which is commonly used by underground cadres here in Nagaland.
With the witnesses denying any extortion activity, the police said no case was registered. Nonetheless, the authorities assured that they were keeping tab on extortion activities in the town.
