Elite forces join operations in hunt for Arunachal MLA’s killers

DIBRUGARH/ ITANAGAR: Army’s elite special forces have joined the search operation conducted in the forests of Tirap, Longding and Changlang districts in Arunachal Pradesh to track down the killers of NPP legislator Tirong Aboh.
The 42-year-old MLA, his teenage son and 10 others were shot dead by suspected NSCN (I-M) militants at 12 Mile, about 20 km from the district headquarters Khonsa, on Tuesday morning while they were on their way from Dibrugarh in Assam to Khonsa in Arunachal. Aboh represented Khonsa West in the assembly and was the NPP candidate from the seat, results for which will be declared on Thursday.
“The Army, the Assam Rifles and Arunachal Police have launched an operation to catch the perpetrators,” PN Thungon, deputy commissioner of Tirap, where the murder took place, said. “No arrest has been made but the operation has been intensified by security agencies. The area has been cordoned off,” he added.
“All likely routes of escape have been blocked. Intensive checks are being conducted along the Arunachal-Nagaland border. The Army has stepped up operations with increased area domination teams and mobile check posts along the border areas and in the adjoining districts of Nagaland,” defence PRO Colonel C Konwer said.
The victim’s bodies have been handed over to their families after post mortem..