Militants on Wednesday gunned down four Army jawans and a special police officer in two separate incidents in Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, underscoring how fragile peace remained in these two trouble-torn regions.
In the first incident, suspected militants belonging to the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) Khaplang faction ambushed an Army convoy at remote Tirap district in Arunachal Pradesh killing three jawans and injuring three others.
Meanwhile, in the second incident militants killed a soldier and a special police officer in an encounter in Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday.
The incident in Arunachal Pradesh came barely a week after NSCN (K) breached the ceasefire pact with the Centre. On Friday last, chairman of the faction SS Khaplang unilaterally scrapped the 14-year-old ceasefire agreement with the Central Government.
Khaplang had also directed the Cease Fire Supervisory Board (CFSB) of the outfit and its members to immediately cease functioning, failing which action would be taken against them. The move has also led to a split in the outfit.
“A convoy was on way from Dinjan Army base in Tinsukia to longding district in the neighbouring State. However, the militants started indiscriminate firing as the convoy reached Topi. The militants targeted the last vehicle in the convoy injuring six jawans,” a senior Army official said.
The official said the three jawans who received serious injuries succumbed before they could be taken to hospital. The three others were undergoing treatment at an Army hospital in Khonsa, he added.
“We believe the NSCN (K) launched the ambush with help from the anti-talk faction of Ulfa militants. However, we are also not ruling out involvement of NSCN (IM) faction,” he added.
The NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K) have a strong base in Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh that borders Myanmar. The Army had also been carrying out series of operations against the Naga militant factions in Tirap and Changlang to contain its extortion drives and kidnappings.
The anti-talk faction of Ulfa militants and other militant outfits of the region also frequent the Tirap and Changlang routes to enter Myanmar, where most of the militant outfits has their bases and training camps.
The Army in Kashmir launched a massive manhunt to track down three militants who attacked a cordon-and-search party and killed a soldier and a special police officer in north Kashmir’s Kunzar belt on Thursday.
The militants belonging to lashkar-e-Tayyeba (leT) outfit had recently shifted their base from south to north Kashmir. Sources said that after inflicting casualties on the security forces in a brief encounter, militants fled away from the site of encounter.
Sources said that the encounter erupted in Hardshora village near Sultanpora in Kunzar belt of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday morning when a joint party of police and Rashtriya Rifles cordoned off the village following specific information on presence of militants in a residential house.
“The contact was established between Army and the terrorists at 7.50 am. As the noose was being tightened, terrorists opened heavy volume of fire causing injuries to two soldiers and a policeman”, Defence spokesman lt Col NN Joshi said.
In the first bout of fire, Gunner Jageshwar of 29 RR and a Special Police Officer (SPO) Mohammad Shafi were critically injured. They were immediately shifted to hospital but succumbed to their injuries.
Gunner Jageshwar, a resident of Madhya Pradesh was enrolled in Army on 20 June 2005 and had volunteered to serve anti-insurgency Rashtriya Rifle unit. Another soldier was wounded in the encounter who is reported to be stable and undergoing a treatment in Base Hospital Srinagar. Police said four people, including a policeman, two Armymen and a civilian were injured in the initial shoot-out. The injured were shifted to the hospitals.
Joshi said that after the firing subsided, the militants escaped from the scene. “Tracking dogs were pressed into action and the pursuit was launched. Operation is still in progress as per last reports”, he said. However, police said that the encounter was called off after militants fled away from the encounter site.
Sources said that three militants were hiding in the house. Two of them were from south Kashmir and one was from central Kashmir’s Budgam district. They had recently shifted their base towards north Kashmir. The encounter took place a day after Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Syed Salahuddin announced that a policeman deployed on the security of a cabinet minister has joined their ranks after fleeing with two automatic rifles. Salahuddin announced reward for the deserter.