Arunachal: Tribal body denies report that PLA, MNRF shot down Army chopper

Itanagar, Oct. 27 (IANS): A local tribal organisation — Adi Bane Kebang (ABK) – on Thursday strongly denied the media reports, that earlier claimed that the militants belonging to Manipur-based groups, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Manipur Naga Revolutionary Front (MNRF) recently shot down the Army helicopter.

Due to technical reasons, an Advanced Light Combat Helicopter of the Indian Army crashed in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district on October 21, killing all five personnel on board. After the mishap, the PLA and the MNRF had reportedly issued a joint statement claiming the responsibility for shooting down the Army Helicopter and these appeared in a section of the media.

The ABK, an apex body of the Adi community of Arunachal Pradesh, has condemned the media reports and the reported statement of the PLA and the MNRF.

ABK Spokesperson Vijay Taram said that the news and the statement are ‘misleading and bogus.’ ABK being the Apex supreme council of the Adi People registers the displeasure of the community over such callous, careless, insensitive, bogus claims made by MNRF for cheap publicity in the strongest terms, Taram told the media.

He further said that the Adi community would not tolerate any sort of anti-national activities in their territories.