GUWAHATI: The anti-talk faction of ULFA on Monday claimed that the three men shot dead in an encounter in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh were not its cadres but ‘innocent’ Assamese youths.
ULFA (Paresh Baruah) publicity secretary ‘lieutenant’ Arunudoy Dohutia in an e-mail to the media here said “After killing the three youths on the main road as they were travelling in a motor-cycle, the security forces to hide their crime displayed the bodies of the slained three with arms falsely claiming them to be ULFA cadres.”
The e-mail said security forces put arms and ULFA pads, seized earlier from other insurgents and claim the slain youths as ULFA militants.
Arunachal Pradesh police said three ULFA militants were killed in an encounter with personnel of 26 Maratha Light Infantry regiment near Noadehing Bridge at Namsai in Assam-Arunachal boundary at around 10.15 PM on Sunday night.
One 9 mm pistol, a .22 pistol, a Chinese grenade along with ULFA pads were found in their possession. (PTI)