Two murdered in East Kameng

our correspondent

Itagar, June 11: Sometime past 2 am on June 6, two gunshots rang out near the Bazaar Line area in Seppa, the headquarters of East Kameng district.

An hour and a half later, the police station received an anonymous call informing that two persons lay dead at the DUDA tourist lodge near the market. A police team led by DSP Bomto Kamdak and investigating officer CA mchoom rushed to the spot. One dead body was found in room number 108, and another, wrapped up in a Chinese blanket, near the lodge’s entrance gate. Upon searching the bodies, the police found identity cards.

The body with the bullet mark on the head was identified as that of Alang Sario 22 male, and the other body, which bore deep gashes and had half of its skull missing, was identified as that of Chogung Sario 52 male. Both were Puroiks.

The police linked the dual murder to the recent killing of Choya Lamnio by one Fayang Sario, who is currently under arrest. The two murdered persons at the tourist lodge were identified as Fayang’s father and brother. They had been killed in retaliation.

Sources said that on May 17 last Choya, 52, along with five Puroik men had gone to Sapapuh jungle in Khenewa area to collect medicil plants. The group was carrying an SBBL gun. Five days later, the party returned to Lamnio village, but without Choya. The Puroiks told his relatives that he had gone missing.

Choya’s son and other relatives went to the jungle in search of the missing person; but despite their efforts they found no clue of Choya’s whereabouts.

Suspecting foul play by the five Puroik men, Choya’s relatives brought them to the Seppa police station, where one of the Puroiks confessed during interrogation that he had accidentally shot Choya with the SBBL gun and later concealed his body in the jungle.

A case was registered and the police arrested all five for the alleged murder of Choya Lamnio. On the evening of June 5, Choya’s son Pritam Lamnio booked a room in the DUDA tourist lodge. Some hours later, he along with two or three others brought Chogung Sario and Alang Sario from Type-I Colony to the tourist lodge in a vehicle owned by one Atum Lamnio.

The father and son were detained at the lodge, apparently on the pretext of holding discussions under the customary law. They were reportedly murdered by Pritam Lamnyo and others with firearms and machetes sometime after two o’clock in the morning.

They then tried to carry away Alang Sario’s body, which bore bullet injuries, to another location. But on seeing the movement of vehicles on the road nearby, they left the body near the tourist lodge’s gate. Police said Chogung Sario must have been attacked with a machete while he was asleep as there was no sigh of struggle in the room.

Pritam Lamnio, Senia Lamnio and Atum Lamnio have since been arrested for the duo’s murder. “The vehicle used by the accused during commission of crime has been seized and investigation is going on for recovering the firearms and the machetes,” DSP Bomto Kamdak said. The DSP requested people not to take law into own hands for the sake of revenge, saying, it is the police department’s job to help and protect people against any kind of crime.