Six militants of the insurgent Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers (KPLT) were killed in an encounter with a joint team of the Assam Police and the Army in the Singhason hills under the Manja police station in central Assam’s Karbi Anglong hill district on Wednesday.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) A.P. Rout told The Hindu that the self-styled Commander-in-Chief of the militant outfit was suspected to have been killed in the encounter. “We have almost confirmed that the Commander-in-Chief was killed along with five other KPLT militants. A formal identification is now awaited,” he added.
A huge cache of arms and ammunition including two AK series rifles, two pistols, a rocket propelled grenade, a lethod gun, four wireless sets was recovered from the slain militants, Mr. Rout said.
The KPLT is a breakaway faction of the insurgent Karbi Longri N.C. Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) and was formed after the KLNLF signed the Suspension of Operations agreement with the Centre and the Assam government in 2010. It has been demanding creation of Hemprek Kangthin (self-ruled homeland) for the Karbi tribe.
