E-Paper
Mob kills 2 suspected insurgents carrying arms in Assam, days after Tinsukia killings
Two suspected ultras carrying arms died after they were attacked by a mob in Assam. It comes days after five people were killed by suspected ULFA(I) insurgents in Tinsukia district.
Two suspected ultras carrying arms died after they were attacked by a mob in Cachar district of Barak Valley in Assam, police said.
The incident happened in the Hari Nagar market around 15 kilometres from Assam’s border with Manipur on Saturday and comes days after five people were killed by suspected ULFA (I) insurgents in Tinsukia district, triggering tension in the state.
State forces are on high alert after a shutdown call by local Bengali organisations protesting the killings in Tinsukia.
The two men, who are yet to be identified, had stopped at the market and asked for directions to some place. But locals got suspicious on finding them carrying weapons.
Cachar superintendent of police, Rakesh Roushan said the two attacked the villagers when they were asked about the weapons they were carrying in a bamboo basket.
“At around 11.15 am, we received a call that villagers have gheraoed two people,” said Rakesh Reddy, additional superintendent of police, Cachar.
By the time police arrived, the duo was badly injured. They were taken to Silchar Medical College and Hospital where they were declared dead on arrival.
“We have recovered two AK56 rifles, two Insas rifles, a Chinese light machine gun, a Chinese hand grenade, a 12 bore gun, and huge quantity of ammunition,” Reddy said.
“The cache of weapons found on them has made us suspect that they were extremists,” Reddy said.
“Two groups, NSCN(K) and Zeliangrong United Front are active in this area. The two may have been part of either of them,” Roushan said.
