Three Jawans killed in Arunachal ambush

Three Rajput Regiment Jawans killed in Arunachal ambush

    Three jawans of the  Rajput Regiment were killed on the spot and four other seriously injured when suspected NSCN militants ambushed their vehicle in Tirap district of eastern Arunachal Pradesh early on Thursday morning, official sources said. Khonsa is about 530 kms east of Itanagar, the state capital.

The jawans were killed when a group of heavily armed militants ambushed them near Old Tupi village on the Khonsa-Longding road. The security personnel were proceeding in a convoy of four vehicles from Khonsa to Longding when the ambush took place. Old Tupi village is about 20 kms away from Khonsa, the district headquarters. 

The incident occurred at about 8:30 AM on Thursday.

Tirap deputy commissioner Kamlesh Joshi said the Rajput Regiment personnel who had left Lekhapani in Assam for Longding on Wednesday, stayed overnight at Khonsa and had moved out only at about 8 AM on Thursday when they were ambushed. “The militants specifically targeted the last of the four vehicles, and all the casualties occurred in the fourth vehicle as the other three vehicles had already crossed the spot,” Joshi said over the telephone.

Though the authorities have suspected it to be the handiwork of one of the two factions of the NSCN, the identity of the group however was yet to be ascertained. “Since both factions of the NSCN are active in the region, hence it will take some to time to ascertain the identity of the culprits,” Joshi said.

Article Posted in Indian Express By Samudra Gupta Kashyap