Phek town business owner Huvosa Venuh refutes allegations levelled against him by the Phek District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, calling them defamatory.
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DIMAPUR — Huvosa Venuh, a business owner in Phek town, has refuted the "false and defamatory" allegations made against him by the Phek District Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PDCCI) in its recent press statement.
In a public rejoinder issued on Saturday, Venuh stated that he was officially registered as a PDCCI member on March 23, with his registration card issued on March 31.
He claimed that within weeks of his registration, on April 18, he was summoned to his shop by the office bearers, where unsubstantiated allegations were made against his employee regarding the sale of a tobacco product above the maximum retail price, allegedly, without any evidence.
During the course of this interaction, Venuh claimed that the president further stated he would have physically assaulted his employee had he not been present.
"In response, I respectfully urged the members to refrain from any form of intimidation or unlawful conduct and requested that any grievance be addressed through a fair and proper procedure. Instead of considering my request, I was accused of supporting a non-local individual over local interests and was arbitrarily directed to shut down my shop," Venuh stated.
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On April 20, in the absence of any lawful order issued by a competent authority, he permitted his employee to reopen the shop, only for it to be forcibly shut down again by the PDCCI members, the rejoinder read.
He was then directed to appear before their office and was asked to sign a bond agreement to replace his employee within one month. Being a new business owner, and considering the practical difficulty of securing a reliable replacement, along with the risk of pending credit payments from customers within such a limited timeframe, Venuh requested a reasonable extension of one year, or at least six months. This request was summarily rejected, leaving him with no option but to refuse to sign the said agreement, he claimed.
According to Venuh, on April 21, without issuing any prior notice, conducting any inquiry, or affording him an opportunity of being heard, PDCCI published and disseminated a press statement through various media outlets containing what he noted as “false, unverified, and defamatory” allegations against him.
He stated that the statement maliciously labelled him as a "local dada”. He argued that the deliberate use of this term is defamatory, as it imputes that he is a person of unlawful, intimidating, and coercive disposition who misuses influence and operates outside the bounds of law. Such an imputation amounts to character assassination, made with the clear intent to harm his reputation, lower his standing in the eyes of the public, and adversely affect his business interests, he added.
Venuh stated that the publication was made recklessly, without due diligence, and in complete disregard of the principles of natural justice, thereby constituting actionable defamation.
"The allegations are false, malicious, and wholly unconnected to my period of proprietorship. It is further significant that PDCCI, in its press statement, deliberately suppressed material facts, including the alleged issue of sale above MRP and the incident of forced closure of my shop, which were the actual triggers of their actions," Venuh said.
He alleged that such selective omission, coupled with the revival of unrelated and previously settled allegations regarding the sale of expired products, demonstrates malice in law and in fact as an intentional attempt to mislead the public while wrongfully attributing blame to him.
Venuh urged the concerned administrative authorities to act responsibly in accordance with the law and to take appropriate action against PDCCI for making false, misleading, and damaging imputations against him.
He further requested that necessary measures be taken to ensure that such baseless and defamatory allegations are not repeated in the future and that due process is strictly followed in all matters.