Daijiworld Media Network - Itanagar

Itanagar, Feb 20: Security forces in Arunachal Pradesh successfully foiled a major terror plot by arresting an NSCN-IM militant and seizing arms and ammunition during a joint operation in Longding district, officials said on Friday.

A team comprising Assam Rifles, the Special Task Force, and Longding police conducted the operation at Tissing, near Zedua village, acting on specific intelligence inputs. The arrested militant, identified as self-styled “captain” Ponglem Wangpan (35), was a cadre of the Isak-Muivah faction of NSCN.

During the search, forces recovered:

• One 5.56 mm INSAS rifle with a magazine
• One 9 mm pistol with a magazine
• 18 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition
• Two rounds of 9 mm pistol ammunition

The militant had reportedly entered Longding with three associates, intending to kidnap or kill an undisclosed target. Swift and coordinated action by security forces averted the planned attack. An FIR has been registered at Longding police station, and investigations are ongoing. Additional combing operations have been intensified to locate other militants in the district.

In a separate development, Arunachal Pradesh Police seized 133 grams of suspected heroin worth around Rs 7 lac in Namsai district and arrested a woman. A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, reflecting the police’s commitment to curbing drug trafficking in the state.