Assam Rifles jawan, civilian injured in exchange of fire in Arunachal Pradesh

The incident occurred at Kharsang area on Friday evening. Kharsang is on the border with Assam.

The jawan, who sustained grievous bullet wounds, was rushed to the Dinjan military hospital in Assam’s Dibrugarh district. The injured civilian, who was hit in the leg and initially admitted to a local primary health centre, was shifted to a nearby hospital in Assam’s Tinsukia district.

Three local youths, who were armed with country-made guns, had set out for fishing and hunting at the Pangchun village forest. However, some Assam Rifles personnel were already deployed there following receipt of intelligence inputs that militants would pass through the area.

Senior officials of the police and administration were not available for comment and as such, it was not clear what led to the incident.

However, preliminary reports suggested that the youngsters had noticed some movement in the jungle. Thinking that there was some animal, they opened fire but injured one of the personnel in the process. The jawan immediately retaliated, thinking the shots came from the militants who they were lying in wait for. One of the youths was injured in the firing while the two others fled.

Another account said the youths had fired shots during hunting but were immediately challenged by the personnel and this led to the exchange of fire in which the two persons were injured.

After the incident, a large number of locals gathered and staged a protest against the Assam Rifles. Later, senior officials of the police and civil administration brought the situation under control.

Tension continued to brew on Saturday but there was no untoward incident.

Militants are active in Changlang, Tirap and Longding districts of eastern Arunachal. The region shares its border with Myanmar where some insurgent groups from the Northeast have their bases.