Militants kill four policemen

Guwahati, June 3 (UNI) Suspected Kuki militants today ambushed a police party deep inside the Karbi Anglong district and killed four policemen.

According to the Diphu control room of the Asom Police, a police petrol team with six persons had gone on a routine petrol near Deemai, when the suspected Kuki Revolutionary Army(KRA) militants struck them with rocket launchers.

The deceased included assistant sub-inspector Bibhash Sarkar, one havaldar, one constable and the driver of the vehicle.

Two other managed to escape and informed the nearest police picket.

Additional police force had rushed to the spot. The apparent reason for the attack was not yet known but the area, nearing NSCN controlled Nagaland territories were infested by a number of groups.

''The area is dominated by the Kuki militants and we suspect that they were behind the attack,'' said the source from the control room. A number of other smaller groups were also active in the area, which were thriving on the huge extortion racket of neighbouring Dimapur and Bokajan.

The security forces were more concerned over the usage of rocket launchers, the most powerful weapon the militants of the North East have ever used in Asom against the security forces.

''The precision rocket launcher attack completely knocked off the vehicle and it was a simple miracle that two of our constables actually survived,'' the source said.

UNI