[Bengia Ajum]
ITANAGAR, 28 Dec: Days after security agencies in the state raised the possibility of involvement of the NSCN (K-YA) in the killing of former MLA Yumsen Matey, the outfit on Wednesday announced that it had ordered his assassination.
Matey was killed on 16 December at Raho village in Lazu circle of Tirap district.
In a statement, the Naga insurgent group claimed that Matey was “awarded capital punishment for his active involvement in all sorts of anti-NSCN activities.”
“He was found guilty of masterminding anti-NSCN propagandas and slogans in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh. He conspired against the NSCN/GPRN and allowed himself to be the tool of the adversaries. This act is no less than treason to his own people and to the ongoing Naga national struggle,” it said.
The NSCN (K-YA) claimed also that the killing was in no way related to the upcoming assembly election in Arunachal.
The security agencies in the state believe that the outfit was left with no option but to own responsibility for the murder.
“The FIR filed by the widow of late Matey clearly mentioned the name of one Tangloi Akham as a suspect. Akham is a self-styled lieutenant colonel of the NSCN (K-YA). It was becoming very clear that the NSCN (K-YA) was involved in the killing, and therefore it came out openly to own responsibility,” said a security official.
As per the content of the FIR, Akham reportedly kept on insisting that Matey meet him at Raho village before the incident, making him a prime suspect in the eyes of the family members.
Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is yet to respond to the state government’s request to investigate the killing of Matey. The state government has sought an NIA investigation and has accordingly written to it.
The NSCN (K-YA) is a Myanmar-based insurgent group. It was formed out of the NSCN (K) in 2017. It is led by Yung Aung, who is the nephew of SS Khaplang, the late chairman of the NSCN (K), who passed away on 9 June, 2017.
