Itanagar: In an exceptional display of thanksgiving to the ‘Friends of the North East People’ ahead of the 73rd Republic Day, the villagers of Lahu village under Dadam circle in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap district on Monday organized a felicitation ceremony to formally express their gratitude to the brave soldiers of 6th Assam Rifles, who had rescued two persons, including the village chief, from the captivity of their kidnappers unharmed.
The village chief of Lahu, Rawang Lowang and former Anchal Samity Member Sunwang Hakhun, who were kidnapped by the insurgents of NSCN-K(YA) on November 14, 2021 from their village and taken across the Indo-Myanmar border for ransom, were rescued by the 6th Assam Rifles troops the very next day in a daring operation, official sources said.
During the function, the village chief and the ex-ASM expressed their heartfelt gratitude towards the 6th Assam Rifles for executing this daring rescue operation, wherein three insurgents were eliminated in the operation making it the most successful rescue operation in the history of insurgency in Arunachal Pradesh, sources said.
The villagers, in a true display of patriotism just before the 73rd Republic Day, conveyed their appreciation to the AR personnel, who are referred to as ‘Friends of the Hill People’, and “pledged to stand firm against insurgency”.
While interacting with the villagers, AR Commandant Col Amit Kumar Das complimented the villagers for “not paying any extortion money to any of the insurgent groups which is a welcome change and this trend should continue in future for ensuring lasting peace in the area”.
In the recent times, there is a growing disgruntlement amongst the local population towards the insurgent groups especially in the Tirap district wherein of late a number of villagers have protested openly against extortion, abduction and other illegal activities of Naga outfits NSCN(IM) and NSCN-K(YA).
Both groups have faced severe setbacks in the last two years in Tirap district with a number of eliminations, apprehensions and surrenders of its cadres, sources added.
