One militant of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland Khaplang (NSCN-K) was killed and one Special Forces soldier injured in an encounter in the Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh near the India-Myanmar border on Monday.
As the encounter was underway, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat met Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju. βIt was a normal encounter. These operations go on every day. Nothing big about this operation,β General Rawat told the media after the meeting.
The incident came a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Myanmar on his way back from the BRICS summit in China, during which counter-terror cooperation will be on top of the agenda.
Based on specific intelligence, Army Special Forces laid an ambush for the militants. But the weather was very foggy due to which the ambush had to be shifted.
βA chance encounter happened as the ambush was being moved. The encounter began around 7.30 a.m. in the morning near Votnu village. It is well inside our boundary,β a source said.
The injured Special Forces soldier was evacuated, and is reported to be stable.