TURA: A suspected militant of United A’chik Liberation Army (UALA) was nabbed with bullet injuries during a botched attack on a petrol station in the heart of Williamnagar town on Wednesday afternoon.
The injured ultra was nabbed from a village across the Simsang river after police teams tracked his movement from the blood trail left behind at the scene of the attack.
A six-member group of UALA militants is said to have crossed over from across the Simsang river into Williamnagar to target the Janusa petrol pump located on the Williamnagar-Nengkhra road.
The attackers scaled a ridge and entered the housing complex of the District Industries, approximately 100 meters away from the fuel station, at around 4:15pm.
From their hideout they opened indiscriminate fire towards the petrol pump damaging pillars and walls of the station even as two bullets hit the cash counter. Fortunately no commuters of employees of the petrol station sustained injuries.
During the attack one of the militants was reportedly hit by a bullet fired from one of their own weapons at the site of the attack.
Police teams which surveyed the site found blood stains that led all the way to the riverside.
Security forces launched a combing operation towards Sampalgre village, across the river, after retrieving a country boat with blood stains that was ferried across the river bank.
During the search operation they came across the injured militant identified as Kalsen Momin. A bullet injury to his abdomen had resulted in severe damage to his intestines and he was bleeding profusely when located.
Despite his capture, the suspect continued to maintain his innocence claiming that he was a victim of militants’ ire. “Six militants of UALA were involved in the attack on the petrol pump and the injured person was one of them. We have eye witness accounts and he has contradicted his own statement to the police,” revealed district police chief Davis Nestell R Marak.
While the injured person claims to have seen five militants attack the petrol station, eye witnesses claim that six persons travelled by boat to the site of the attack and returned the same way with one of them injured.
Police recovered as many as 25 empty rounds of AK ammunition that was fired from the attack site at the Industries colony.
“We have come to know that the UALA militants were led by one Samrak who was deputed by their military chief Singbirth Marak alias Norrok X Momin to target the petrol station over non-compliance to their extortion demands,” revealed SP Davis Nestell Marak.
The attackers reportedly had in their possession four AK automatic rifles.
The attack comes less than three days after the UALA northern commander Tensgsang N Sangma alias Nishan was arrested by Assam police from Basistha area of Guwahati along with five other cadres, including two women members, while travelling for medical treatment.
Also, four suspected UALA militants were nabbed from Samanda village, near Williamnagar, last week during an extortion drive.
The four suspects were apprehended after they served demand notes on petty traders and businessmen in the area. Police recovered from their possession two country-made pistols and several demand notes in the name of UALA and ANVC-B.
