Security forces in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap district killed a hardcore NSCN-K (Nikki) operative on Thursday and recovered weapons from him, a senior police official said.

The Khonsa Battalion of Assam Rifles and district police gunned down the NSCN-K (Nikki) cadre identified as self-styled secretary Wangkhai Wangsa in an area close to Hukanjuri in the district, Tirap SP Rahul Gupta said.

This comes a day after the joint team led by Borduria police station officer in-charge and a column of 6 Assam Rifles carried out an operation and arrested a militant of the proscribed group from Bogapani area.

The arrested militant was identified as self-styled private Teton Lokhow (22), a resident of Borduria village, the SP said, adding the militant was sending extortion messages to influential persons.

Lokhow disclosed that two operatives, Wangsa and self-styled private David, were also moving in the Longding area for intimidation and extortion, the SP said.

Based on his inputs, another operation was launched by the joint team on Thursday to force both Wangsa and David to surrender in an area close to Hukanjuri, he said.

Acting on intelligence inputs, the joint team under DSP (HQ) Togum Gongo moved inside the Hukanjuri Naitong forest areas and spotted both the militants.

“When they were asked to surrender, they fired on the forces. When security forces retaliated, Wangkhai succumbed to gunshot injuries but David managed to escape into the forest,” the SP disclosed.

One 9mm pistol and a .32 pistol along with personal belongings of Wangkhai have been recovered from the spot, Gupta said adding, a case has been registered at Borduria police station.

The SP said the NSCN-K (Nikki) cadres belonged to Tirap and Longding districts and had been serving extortion notes to locals via WhatsApp and intimidating them through phone calls and text messages.