At least four people were killed by militants of the Karbi People’s liberation Tigers (KPlT) in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district in the wee hours of Friday. There are also reports of killing of two KPlT cadres in a retaliatory attack by a Naga militant outfit, which is yet to be confirmed by the police.
locals said that the attack was perpetrated by a group of armed KPlT militants at Khoaani village near Chokihola under Bokajan sub division in the hill district. They (the militants) first set some houses on fire and then started firing indiscriminately at the villagers, killing four of them instantly, the locals complained.
The deceased were all Nagas and also included three women, the locals added.
“The attack was perpetrated by the militants. They came as civilians and torched some houses before going on a shooting spree. Four persons were killed in the incident,” I Rengma, president of Rengma Naga People’s Council, said on Friday. Rengma hails from the affected village.
“I have heard about more Naga villages being attacked and clashes between Karbi and Naga militant groups. I don’t have the details,” he added.
The Nagas have a sizeable population in the district. A section of them eke out a living by doing orange plantation. The Karbi militants were said to be peeved with the Naga farmers’ refusal to pay ‘taxes’ to them. Following the refusal, the Karbi militants seem to have asked the Naga villagers to vacate the village by December 25 last.
“Four bodies have been recovered from the village that included three women and one male. Unconfirmed report said that two KPlT cadres have also been killed after Rengma Naga Hills Protection Force (RNHPF) — a militant outfit of the Rengma Naga community — retaliated and attacked the Karbi militants,” said State Commissioner Secretary (Home) GD Tripathy.
“However, their (the militants’) bodies are yet to be recovered,” he said adding that the situation is tense but under control now.
Tripathy further said that three additional companies of forces have already been rushed to the affected villages to stop spread of the violence.
Meanwhile, panic over a possible ethnic riot gripped people in the district after two back-to-back incidents of assault involving the Nagas and the Karbis recently.
In one incident, four Karbi youth were allegedly assaulted by suspected militants of the Rengma Naga Hills Protection Force. In another incident, the suspected Karbi miscreants attacked a pastor and a youth, both Nagas.
After Friday’s killings, social organisations belonging to both the ethnic communities have appealed to people to restraint for the maintenance of peace.