Militants shot dead a worker of a construction company engaged by the Indian Railways at Maibong in Assam’s North Cachar Hills (N C Hills) district on Wednesday. Another worker was also injured in the incident.

Police said the militants of the Black Widow faction of the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) — an underground tribal militia —raided the construction site at Chimlong Disa, where the workers of a private farm was engaged for conversion of the Northeastern Frontier Railways’ meter gauge tracks into broad-gauge.

They found three workers at the site and opened fire at them.

One of the workers Nazir Hussain died on the spot after being riddled by bullets; another was later rushed to a nearby hospital. The third worker managed to escape the volley of bullets.

Sources said that the rebels had demanded a huge sum of money from the construction company, but it had refused to pay up.

“The militants might have carried out the attack to mount pressure on the company,” said a local police officer.