DEOMALI, 9 Oct: Four senior operatives of the NSCN (R) were apprehended in a joint operation carried out by the Assam Rifles (AR) and the Tirap police here on Thursday.
The individuals have been identified as self-styled (SS) brigadier Pholai Ponglaham, SS brigadier Nyaiwang Wangsa, SS lieutenant colonel Sampan Jugli, and SS lieutenant Chaijung Tikhak.
Of the four apprehended, Ponglaham and Wangsa were wanted by the Longding police in the murder of a shopkeeper, Atar Sharma.
An AR release informed that a joint mobile vehicle check post was set up at 7 am by the AR, the Tirap police and the ECIB after they received credible inputs regarding the movement of a group of individuals engaged in extortion activities in Deomali.
“At approximately 1000 hours, a black Mahindra Thar (AR-12B-3333) was intercepted at the check post. On thorough checking, four senior operatives of the NSCN (R) were apprehended. During the operation, six mobile phones, one tablet, one trolley bag, one duffel bag, and the Thar vehicle were seizedfrom their possession,” the release said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that two of the apprehended operatives were accused in the murder of a shopkeeper in Longding district, apart from being involved in multiple extortion and illegal tax collection activities in Tirap and Longding districts, the release added.
The apprehended operatives, along with the recovered items, were later handed over to the Tirap police at the Deomali police station for further investigation.
