SHILLONG/GUWAHATI: A senior army officer from the city was killed in a gun battle with NSCN-K and ULFA (I) cadres in a village in Nagaland’s Mon district late on Tuesday night.
The 32-year-old officer of the 164 Brigade of the Territorial Army, Major David Manlun, was born and brought up in Shillong though his family is originally from Manipur.
Kohima-based Defence PRO Colonel Chiranjeet Konwer said a team of jawans led by Major Manlun went to Lappa, a remote area in Tizit’s sub-division close to Assam-Nagaland order, “on the basis of specific information about the presence of a group of NSCN(K) and ULFA(I) militants in the area”.
“As the army team launched the search operation, the militants lobbed a grenade and fired at the army men that resulted in the death of the major,” the defence PRO said.
Three militants were killed in the firing and a civilian was caught in the crossfire, Konwer added.
The body of the deceased officer was flown home to the Assam Regimental Centre in Happy Valley, Shillong, on Wednesday and was received with full military honour.
Wreaths were being laid by officials of the ARC, 101 Area, 58 GTC and the Army.
Family proud
The bereaved family of Manlun said it was proud of the “supreme sacrifice which he has made for the country”.
Brother Siampu Manlun said his brother always wanted to join the Army and serve the country because their father who also served in the Army.
Manlun did his schooling and graduation from St Anthony’s in Shillong in 2005.
Siampu recalled that his brother went to Delhi for his MBA and later he cleared the Combined Defence Service examination.
“Then he successfully completed his training from the Office Training Academy in Chennai,” he said.
Manlun was commissioned as officer in 2010 and his first unit was Naga regiment. His family described Manlun as an “active person in all spheres since school days”. He used to command the NCC unit in college.
“We are sad. But I am proud of my son. He has done his duty and gave his life for our tomorrow,” Manlun’s father M Khamzalam, a former army person, said. “He had informed me that he has been selected to be part of the elite National Security Guards and was due to join NSG soon,” he added.
The funeral will be held in the Assam Regimental Centre cemetery on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the militants who belonged to a combined group of the banned ULFA (I) and NSCN (Khaplang), were handed over to police in Mon.
The place of encounter is about 325 km from Nagaland’s capital Kohima and about 25 km from the India-Myanmar border. The identity of the civilian who was killed is not yet known, the defence PRO said.
The army operation also led to the recovery of an AK-56 assault rifle and two Chinese AK series rifles, two grenades, three IEDs and 270 live rounds of AK-series ammunition. (With inputs from Agencies)
