Two former National Liberation Front of Bodoland (NLFB) were killed and an Additional Superintendent of Police was injured in an encounter while a civilian was killed by suspected dacoits in Assam’s Chirang district on Tuesday, police said.
Acting on specific inputs about the presence of a group of NLFB militants, suspected to have been involved in dacoities in three villages along the Indo-Bhutan border on March 29, an operation was launched in Runikhata area of the district last night.
The group, hiding inside a house, opened fire at the police personnel and in the subsequent retaliatory firing, two persons, including the prime accused of the dacoity case Mahanta Narzary, was killed while Additional Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Prakash Medhi and his bodyguard were injured in the firing.
Around two to three persons inside the house, however, managed to escape and search operations have been stepped up to nab them.
Medhi, who received bullet injuries in his right hand, and his bodyguard have been shifted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) for treatment.
Two pistols were recovered from the encounter site.
‘Valiant action by Additional SP Prakash Medhi. Despite receiving bullet injury, he and his team neutralised two criminals after heavy exchange of fire in Runikhata, Chirang early this morning.@Assam Police is proud of you”, Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) G P Singh tweeted.
During the same time, a group of suspected dacoits entered a house in Kamarpara area under Dhaligaon police station but when its inmates raised a hue and cry, they escaped by opening fire in which a family member was killed.
Police officials have rushed to the spot and have launched a combing operation in the area to apprehend the killers.
Assam has witnessed a spurt in police encounters since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed office on May 10 last year, with 40 people killed and at least 91 injured in such incidents since then.
