DNA Edit: Thwart separatists - Killing of Arunachal MLA is meant to derail accord

Brutal violence has come to the doorstep of one of the relatively more peaceful states in the Northeast — Arunachal Pradesh. Two days before the counting of votes, heavily armed suspected NSCN-IM Naga rebels shot dead National People’s Party (NPP) MLA Tirong Aboh, his son and nine others at Bogapani in terrorist-infested Tirap district of the state.

Aboh was on his way back from Assam when his convoy of three vehicles was stopped by terrorists — all in combat fatigue — and shot at point blank range. He represented the Khonsa-West seat in Arunachal Pradesh and was recontesting the Assembly election in 2019.

The audacity of the attack has raised serious questions about the role of Assam Rifles, which is deployed in the area to maintain law and order, and enforce the ground rules of the 2015 ceasefire agreement between NSCN factions and the central government.

The Assam Rifles needs to get its act together. In recent months, various Naga factions have had a free-run of the Tirap and Changlang districts, which have become their safe haven. This killing has put the focus back on a region that is simmering beneath the surface.

Northeast needs to be handled with care as there are many terrorist groups operating in the region, demanding various degrees of independence from India. Even though they have been worn down over a period of time, there are always occasions like this when they rear their ugly head.

The attack was reportedly organised by the Isak-Muivah faction of the NSCN, a long-standing thorn in the flesh of Indian security agencies. It is an attempt to derail the NSCN-central government accord, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had described as historic. More than anything, it paves the way for solving many issues that the Nagas are confronted with. Any attempt to derail a hard-fought bargain like this needs to be resisted.