Arunachal police question former rebels, UTA claims no connection

Itanagar: The United Tani Army (UTA), an armed group operating in Arunachal Pradesh, has denied any connection with former members of the National Liberation Council of Taniland (NLCT).

UTA chairman Anthony Doke alleged that Arunachal Police are wrongfully detaining several former NLCT operatives, linking them to the UTA.

"The police are making a serious error by targeting these individuals. Former NLCT members have long since left our ranks and have moved on with their lives. We have no association with them whatsoever," Anthony Doke told Arunachal Times.

Doke said many former NLCT operatives have reintegrated into society, starting families and building new lives. He urged the Arunachal Pradesh police to cease their harassment of these individuals based on unfounded suspicions.

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Itanagar SP Rohit Rajbir Singh confirmed that the police had detained certain individuals for questioning. "We are investigating specific leads and require further information," Singh said.

United Tani Army recently shared videos of its camp in an undisclosed location in Myanmar. The group is operating out of the Indo-Myanmar border close to Arunachal Pradesh as well as Nagaland.

Doke, previously a key leader of the NLCT, was apprehended along with other members of the group following a police crackdown in 2010.

The NLCT, active from around 2005, was eventually neutralized, with its members either arrested or surrendering.