One villager was killed and several injured in a crossfire as cadres of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) opened fire on the Army in Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh, the Army said on Saturday.
It said in a statement that based on specific intelligence input regarding presence of insurgents in Pumao village, a search operation was launched in the general area.
“There was a gathering of villagers which started protesting against security forces and resorted to stone pelting. Troops identified suspicious movement and started moving towards a house which drew two to three bursts of fire on Indian Army party,” the statement said. “Civilians were told to disperse and to safeguard lives and property, controlled retaliation was resorted to by firing eight single shots,” it stated.
In this melee, the insurgents managed to escape and in the crossfire it is believed a few villagers were hurt and one villager died, the Army said. Several soldiers were injured in the stone pelting by supporters of the NSCN-IM, it added.
