Ahead of Assembly Elections, Army guns down two senior KPLT terrorists in Assam, apprehends one

Guwahati: With just two days left for the Assam assembly polls, the Indian Army on Saturday claimed to have eliminated two senior Karbi People Liberation Tigers (KPLT) terrorists and apprehended one of their accomplices in an operation launched at Kalyani Reserve Forest in Karbi Anglong district yesterday.

The KPLT terrorist was identified by the army as Sojong Tisso, who was the outfit`s finance secretary. The security forces were looking out for him and his accomplice Mokrang Bey for the last three months.

The apprehended terrorist has been identified as Son Tisso.The army claimed to have seized sophisticated weapons, including HK 33 Rifle and an automatic pistol, from the terrorists."After receiving specific inputs of movement of some of the armed insurgent cadres on March 31, a highly trained team of the army launched an operation in the dense Kalyani Reserve Forest," Lieutenant Colonel Suneet Newton, Public Relation Officer (Defence), said in a statement today while divulging details of the operation.

"Following the tracks of insurgents, the army personnel on about 5 PM on April 1 came in contact with armed insurgent cadres. On being challenged, the terrorists attempted to escape and fired indiscriminately at the army troops," he said.

"In the ensuing fierce encounter, two senior KPLT terrorists were eliminated and one was apprehended alive," said Lt. Col. Suneet Newton, adding that the army had busted a terrorist hideout and seized a cache of arms, ammunition and explosives on Friday."This swift surgical intelligence-based operation just two days prior to the Assam State polls has resulted in a major setback to insurgent groups.

This successful operation has instilled a sense of security and safety in populace residing in East Karbi Anglong," he said.He said that a host of intelligence inputs were being received in the last two weeks of insurgent groups` movement in Karbi Anglong districts, adding the army undertook extensive day-night operations in jungles and in inhospitable terrain with an objective to thwart their designs.