Namsai (Arunachal Pradesh): A member of the banned United Liberation Front of Assam – Independent (Ulfa-I) was killed in an encounter with the Army and Assam Rifles in the Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh on the intervening night of October 21/22.
He is suspected to be one of those involved in a major attack on an Army camp in Assam’s Kakopathar on October 17 during which three soldiers received minor injuries. The militants had attacked the Army camp around midnight from a moving vehicle, using grenade launchers and automatic rifles.
The exchange of fire had continued for nearly half-an-hour after which the attackers had fled. Security forces had recovered the abandoned vehicle after daybreak on a riverbank. The militants had crossed the river and entered Arunachal Pradesh’s Namsai district. The Army and Assam Rifles had launched Operation Namsai thereafter to track them down.
“On 21/22 October night, in an Operation launched by Indian Army and Assam Rifles units, contact was established with terrorists at MS-6 area in Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh. The search conducted after first light revealed the body of self-styled Seargeant Major Iwon Axom, a cadre of Ulfa-I. A rifle, an RPG round and three rucksacks were found next to the body. The Operation is still underway. Additional columns of security forces have also been incorporated with the police and CRPF,” a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said.
Security forces are making all efforts to keep Arunachal Pradesh free from militancy. The state is of immense strategic importance as it shares a border with China. The Chinese still refuse to accept Arunachal Pradesh a part of India, calling it Southern Tibet. Miltant outfits from Nagaland and Assam continue to operate in some parts of the state, forcing the imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in three districts.