Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday sought to downplay the latest operation by security forces against the NSCN(K) along the Indo-Myanmar border, saying such actions are taken regularly.
“It was a normal encounter. These operations go on everyday. Nothing big about this operation,” he told reporters here after a meeting with minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju.
The encounter between the Army troops and the Khaplang faction of the Naga insurgent group NSCN in Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh, along the border with Myanmar, took place just a day before the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Myanmar.
At least one NSCN(K) militant was killed and another injured in the encounter during which a hideout of the outfit was destroyed.
The security forces had launched the operation following specific input about the presence of NSCN(K) rebels near Votnu village in the district. The forces came under heavy fire from the rebels and retaliated, Defence spokesman Colonel Chiranjit Konwer said in Itanagar.