[ Bengia Ajum ]
KHONSA, 16 Dec: Former MLA Yumsen Matey was shot dead on Saturday afternoon near the Indo-Myanmar border in Lazu circle of Tirap district.
As per a report, Matey was killed near Raho village, which is a few hours’ walk away from the international border. He was reportedly visiting Raho along with some of his workers.
Confirming the incident, IGP (Law & Order) Chukhu Apa said that a police team is visiting the place where the incident took place.
As per initial report, the incident took place at around 3 pm, when Matey and his workers were intercepted by a man when they were on the way to Raho. The man reportedly sought a private meeting with him, and they walked towards a hill for the meeting.
The workers who were waiting for Matey heard a gunshot after some time. The man reportedly came back and threatened the workers against telling anyone about the incident. Later, the scared workers reported the matter to the police.
Matey was planning to contest election from the Khonsa West assembly constituency, and had recently announced his candidature. He had been elected as an MLA for the first time in 2009 on a Congress ticket. He lost the election in 2014, and joined the BJP in 2015.
Before joining politics, Matey was a government official working in the education department.
It is feared that the suspect(s), after killing Matey, fled towards Myanmar. However, the police have so far not been able to identify the person behind the killing. Several Naga insurgent groups are reportedly active in the area.
