Former Arunachal Pradesh MLA Tirong Aboh and 10 others were killed by cadres of Naga insurgent group NSCN (IM) in May last year for opposing extortion in Tirap district of the frontier state, said a charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
In the charge sheet filed against four cadres of NSCN (IM) on Monday, the NIA said investigation into the case established that members of NSCN(IM) led by self-styled Major General Absolom, who is an absconding accused in the case, along with Luckin Mashangva, Yangte Josaham and Napong Jenpi formed a group to commit the crime. They were financed by Jai Kishan Sharma, another militant.
"The members of NSCN(IM) had on an earlier occasion threatened MLA and his supporters for their opposition to criminal activities of NSCN(IM). As part of the conspiracy, members of the outfit fired with sophisticated weapons at his convoy on May 21, 2019 leading to the death of eleven people and injuring three others," said a statement issued by the NIA on Tuesday.
Militants fired at the MLA's convoy near Pansum Thong village in Tirap district in which Aboh, his young son and 10 others died. Aboh was on his way to khonsa from Dibrugarh in Assam. The incident took place days before the result of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly elections, in which he was declared a winner. His wife was later elected to the Assembly.
The case was handed over to the NIA later.
Although NSCN (IM) is a militant group based in neighbouring Nagaland, its cadres have often been accused of involvement in unlawful activities such as abduction and extortion in Tirap, Changlang and Longdeng districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
The charge sheet filed in the special NIA court at Yupia in Arunachal Pradesh charged the five NSCN (IM) members under section 120B, 302,307 and 34 of IPC and 25 (1B)(a) and 27 of Arms Act and Sections16, 18 and 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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