Diphu (Assam): Heavy exchange of fire broke out on Sunday when suspected extremists from Nagaland allegedly opened fire on security personnel and workers engaged in an anti-encroachment operation in Doldoli Reserve Forest in Assam, leaving three persons injured.
“Firing is still continuing by suspected extremists from Nagaland side and three persons have been injured,” Additional Superintendent of Police (Border) Nanda Singh told PTI on Sunday evening.
An Assam Police personnel, a forest guard and a labourer were injured and they have been shifted to a hospital, he said.
The miscreants fired from sophisticated INSAS rifles, light machine guns, rocket launchers and hurled bombs at the labourers, police and officials of district administration and forest department who were evicting the encroachers in Doldoli Reserve Forest land at Dikoibari, Additional Superintendent of Police Nanda Singh told PTI.
The police retaliated and heavy exchange of fire was continuing with the attackers firing from bunkers set up along the Assam-Nagaland border, Singh who was leading the eviction drive said.
The labourer, who was hit on his shoulder, was admitted to Diphu Civil Hospital, Singh said. About 150 illegally constructed houses were pulled down in the forest area falling under Diphu police station during the operation on Sunday, the ASP said.
On Saturday, the miscreants had blasted bombs, hurled grenades and fired from rifles to halt the eviction operation but none was injured, Singh said.
A total of 69 illegally constructed houses under Lahorijan border outpost, 300 under Dikoi (BOP) and 70 under Sankertilla (BOP) were demolished yesterday, he said.
Two SBBL guns, a car and several hundred roofing tin sheets were recovered from Sankertilla area, the ASP said.
Since January last, he said the miscreants had occupied several hundred hectares of Doldoli Reserve Forest and were periodically firing upon security personnel at Sankertilla, Kasiram, Lahorijan and Rangapa BOP areas.
In this connection, nine cases were registered in Diphu police station and 55 persons arrested since then.
Senior police officials have been visiting the border areas and civil society organisations from the district and Nagaland had meetings appealing for peace and for the two state governments to politically solve the issue. (PTI)