An Assam Rifles jawan was killed and four others injured after a patrol team came under ambush along the India-Myanmar border in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district on Tuesday morning, officials said.
The incident took place at around 6:30 am near Nampong Nallah under Nampong circle, an area where security personnel were conducting patrols amid ongoing border-fencing work. The personnel involved belonged to the 21 Assam Rifles unit.
According to preliminary information, the patrol team came under fire from suspected terrorists while operating in the area. The attack resulted in the death of 42-year-old Havildar Jankhokai Kuki, who was serving with the Assam Rifles. Four other personnel sustained injuries in the firing.
The injured soldiers were being evacuated for medical treatment following the attack. Officials had not immediately released details about the severity of their injuries or their condition.
Preliminary inputs indicated that militants belonging to the NSCN (K-YA) faction could be behind the attack. However, authorities have not officially confirmed the identity of the attackers, and investigations are underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
An official statement from the Assam Rifles is awaited.
Changlang Superintendent of Police Kirli Padu confirmed that information about the incident had reached the district police authorities. He said the officer-in-charge of Changlang police station had been instructed to collect further details about the attack.
“We have received information about the incident that took place along the India-Myanmar border and have asked the OC of Changlang police station to collect information related to it,” Padu said.
The attack comes against the backdrop of continued security concerns along Arunachal Pradesh’s frontier with Myanmar. Changlang district forms part of a strategically sensitive belt in eastern Arunachal Pradesh, where the international border has historically witnessed the movement of insurgent groups operating in the region and across the frontier.
The difficult terrain and the proximity of several insurgent networks to the India-Myanmar border have made the area particularly challenging for security forces. Assam Rifles personnel are deployed extensively in the region for counter-insurgency operations as well as border-security duties.
The ongoing border-fencing work has also increased the security focus in parts of the frontier. Patrols by security personnel are routinely conducted around such areas to secure work sites and monitor movement along the border.
Following Tuesday morning’s attack, further security operations are expected in the area as authorities work to establish the identity and whereabouts of those responsible. Security agencies are also likely to examine whether the attack was specifically linked to the ongoing border-fencing activity.
The death of Havildar Jankhokai Kuki marks another loss for the Assam Rifles, one of India’s oldest paramilitary forces, which has a longstanding role in maintaining security along the country’s northeastern frontiers and conducting counter-insurgency operations.
Further details are expected once the Assam Rifles and other security agencies complete their initial assessment of the incident.
