Arunachal: 2 NSCN-IM insurgents; one civilian killed in encounter; outraged locals
In a confrontation with security personnel on Sunday in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap district, two suspected members of the insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) were killed, according to authorities.
One of the men killed, according to District Commissioner Taro Mize, was not a member of the group. On Sunday, a fight broke out in the Old Kolagaon neighbourhood. Security personnel also apprehended an insurgent as well as a large cache of firearms and other warlike supplies in the region.
On Monday, Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Chukhu Apa told that one of the dead men was a cadre of the NSCN (IM), and that the other could be a member of the armed Naga group.
Apa questioned, “Why was he with the armed group?” “It wouldn’t be inaccurate to describe him as a group’s overground worker.”
According to Arunachal Times, a civilian, Retto Kakho, was killed in the conflict, prompting villagers in Deomali, Tirap district, to take to the streets to protest the NSCN groups’ use of civilians as human shields.
Another person was wounded in the gunfight, according to Apa, and has been admitted to a hospital in Dibrugarh, Assam. He also claims to be a suspected NSCN(IM) operative.
The insurgents’ arms and ammo have been seized, according to the police officer.
On Monday, student organizations in Tirap called for a 12-hour strike.
Since January of this year, NSCN-IM insurgents have been conducting extortion drives and recruiting new members in Tirap.
