Ulfa-NSCN(K) ultras attack Kakopathar PS

No casualties reported, manhunt on to b attackers

BY Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Sept 30: Suspected militants attacked Kakopathar police station tonight with sophisticated weapons and rocket-propelled gredes, but there was no casualty.

Tinsukia Superintendent of Police Mugdhajyoti Mahanta, who rushed to the spot, said the attack took place at around 8 pm.

"The militants fired at the police station from near an SBI ATM located about 100 metres away. Personnel at the police station retaliated and went after the militants. The militants fled after firing an RPG which, however, did not explode," Mahanta said, adding that no one sustained injuries in the exchange of fire.

He said though initially it was believed that there were four militants – two Ulfa cadres and two from NSCN(K) – possibility of the presence of a fifth militant is not ruled out. “Moreover, there could be a few more who were positioned for ambushes,” the SP said, adding that a manhunt has been launched to b them.

Kakopathar, once a Ulfa stronghold, is around 16 km from Aruchal Pradesh. The inter-state border areas are largely forested. Security agencies say the Ulfa and NSCN(K) have a good presence in the bordering districts of Aruchal Pradesh. In April last, four Northeast militants groups – the KLO and NDFB(S) besides the Ulfa and NSCN(K) – had floated a joint front christened as the ‘United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia’ (UNLFW) to achieve ‘united and total struggle’. It had claimed responsibility for two major attacks after that – in galand and Manipur – in which 26 soldiers were killed.