Itanagar 9 August : A week ahead of the Independence Day, heavy exchange of fire between the Assam Rifles and the militants occurred in Arunachal Pradesh near the border between India and Myanmar on Tuesday and injured one junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), officials said. The incident on Tuesday took place after militant outfits like the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) demanded the cancellation of the Independence Day celebrations.
Defence sources have said that militant groups that cross the border between India and Myanmar attacked the Assam Rifles troops at Tirap Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh.
Assam Rifles troops were undertaking increased patrolling in anticipation of the increased security for the upcoming Independence Day.One JCO suffered a minor injury in hand in the course of firing.There was no other casualty, or other injuries have been confirmed, a defence spokesperson said.
The paramilitary troopers increased the surveillance following the incident.
A segment of media coverage reported on a similar incident of exchange of fire between the Assam Rifles and the militants in Nagaland’s Noklak district.
The report in the media that has yet to be confirmed by Army officials as well as citing Nagaland police, said that NSCN (KYA faction) and ULFA-I fired on Assam Rifles personnel at a border outpost in Noklak district, which is located along the India-Myanmar border.There is no report of deaths yet as police have been rushing into the mountains bordering regions.
Four Northeastern states -Four states from the Northeast – Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510 km) have a 1,643 km of unfenced border with Myanmar in Myanmar, in which the cadres of the handful of militant groups that belong to the Northeast region of India are sheltered and conduct arm training.
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