Security forces gunned down two suspected NSCN(IM) insurgents while another was injured in an encounter in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, police and Assam Rifles officials said here on Monday.
One cadre of the outfit was arrested by the security personnel who also recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, Inspector General of Police (Law & Order) Chukhu Apa said.
Local people, however, claimed that one of the two persons killed and the injured man were civilians who were picked up by NSCN(IM) cadres by force to work as their guides.
The Tirap district administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident which occurred at Old Kolagaon near Khonsa, the district headquarters, on Sunday.
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An AK-56 rifle with a magazine, one 5.56 mm M4A1 carbine made in the US, a 32 mm pistol, a huge cache of ammunition and other warlike stores were recovered from the encounter site, Apa said.
The NSCN(IM) insurgents have been carrying out extortion drives and recruiting new cadres in Tirap district since January, the police official said.
The IGP said that Triap district police and Assam Rifles jointly launched an operation based on intelligence inputs about the presence of the NSCN(IM) cadres in the area.
Commanding Officer of 6 Assam Rifles, Col A K Das, said that security forces intercepted around five people in the jungle area between Old and New Golagaon villages at around 11 am on Sunday.
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“They were armed with assault rifles. When our team asked them to surrender, they fired upon us so we had to return the fire in which two of them were killed and one suffered injuries. One of the deceased is a self-styled corporal of the NSCN(IM),” he said.
The injured man was taken to a hospital in Dibrugarh town of Assam.
Col Das said that while one of the insurgents fled the spot, the security forces managed to apprehend a self-styled private of the underground outfit and he has been sent to police custody.
Local people, however, claimed that Retto Kakho, one of the two men killed in the incident, and the injured man, Pakngam Lowang, are civilians who have no association with the NSCN(IM).
“Kakho is a former panchayat leader of Old Kolagaon village and a public leader," one of the locals said.
All Tirap Students Union (ATSU) general secretary Priyang Pumoh said according to the family members of the deceased, Khako and Lowang were picked up by the NSCN-IM to act as local guides for them.
“They were forced to lead the way for the insurgents and they had no other option,” Pumoh said.
Condemning the incident, a 12-hour bandh was also enforced in Tirap district by ATSU on Monday while protest rallies were held at Khonsa and Deomali.
Members of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union and the North East Students’ Organisation also joined the protests.
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Pumoh said a memorandum seeking compensation for Kakho’s family and education assistance for his children were submitted to the Assam Rifles.
On Kakho and Lowang being civilians, Col Das said the matter is being investigated.
“If they were civilians, why were they moving with the armed group in the middle of the jungle? Normally those who help insurgents are considered over-ground workers. We shall wait for the inquiry report,” he said.
