The murder of MLA Yumsen Matey has sent shockwaves across the state. Matey was shot dead at point blank range on Saturday afternoon near the Indo-Myanmar border in Lazu circle of Tirap district. He was reportedly visiting Raho along with some of his workers. His killing looks political in nature. A few months ago, he had announced his candidature from the Khonsa West assembly constituency, from where had won the election in 2009. His killing brought back memories of the brutal killing of former MLA Tirong Aboh. The militants shot dead 11 people, including MLA Tirong Aboh, who was contesting assembly elections, and his son near Deomali in Tirap district in 2019.
In 2007, former MP Wangcha Rajkumar was assassinated in Deomali. In both the killings, the role of Naga militants came to the forefront. These groups have been operating in Tirap, Changlang and Longding for many years. They carry out extortion and all kinds of illegal activities in these districts. The governments, both at centre and in the state, have failed to provide any kind of sense of security to the people of the three districts. In fact, the situation has deteriorated in the last few years. If this continues, the people of the TCL region will never live in peace. The government will have to come out and take decisive action against these Naga militants.