Police commandos kill army major and soldier
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Guwahati, Jan 7, IRNA -- An Indian army major and a soldier were killed by police in the insurgency-hit northeastern state of Assam in a bungled counter-insurgency operation, officials Friday said. An army official said Major Mukesh Chaurasia and a soldier, both in civil dress, were shot dead by police commandos Thursday near village Nakhongia in Dibrugarh district, 510 kilometers east of Assam`s main city of Guwahati. It appears to be a clear case of mistaken identity with the police commandos gunning down the two army personnel thinking them to be militants, defence spokesman Major S.K. Gautam told IRNA. The two belonged to the army`s Intelligence Corps. Dibrugarh district magistrate Harendra Nath Bora said quoting police reports that a group of commandos laid an ambush in the house of a local resident that had received threats from the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). The police in its report said there was an encounter between the ULFA and the commandos and the two army personnel probably died in the crossfire, Bora said. The police team apparently was not aware of the two army personnel present in the site of the encounter. The police Thursday claimed they had shot dead two ULFA militants. The claims, however, proved wrong after the identity card of the army major was recovered from his pocket later in the day. Police officials refused to comment on the incident. The police and the army have launched independent investigations into the botched encounter. The state is currently under a Unified Command with the army, police, and the paramilitary agencies suppose to work in tandem to counter militancy in Assam where more than 10,000 people have lost their lives during the past two decades. 2163/1416
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