Guwahati: In a big development, three people, including one alleged NSCN-IM Kilonser, were arrested with arms, including a 9mm pistol, and ammunition from the Bhandari foothills area in the Wokha district of Nagaland on Saturday evening.
According to unconfirmed sources, one of the three is an NSCN member while the other two are civilians. At the time of filing this report, the police, however, did not confirm on the record that one of the arrested persons is an NSCN cadre. “The three were brought to the Bhandari Police station an hour or so ago and are currently being interrogated. I cannot confirm the identity of the people. I can do so only after the interrogation. But yes, I can confirm the seizure of the arms and ammunition,” a police official familiar with the matter and posted at the Bhandari Police Station confirmed with EastMojo.
One official in the security forces said the arrest was made following a tip-off received by the Assam Rifles.
A highly-placed source in the administration told EastMojo that one of the arrested persons is Mhajan Odyuo, Deputy Kilonser of the NSCN-IM. “It is now confirmed that he was carrying a pistol, which is a violation of the ceasefire agreement between the Government of India and the NSCN-IM. Such ingressions attract the National Security Act. Now, it remains to be seen whether the Nagaland government will invoke NSA as per the procedure,” he added.
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