Imphal, November 19 2009: Referring to news reports about the killing of two UG suspects in a reported encounter with troops of 31 AR near Indo-Myanmar border pillar no 81 on November 14 and subsequent inability to identify the slain individuals, the proscribed UNLF asserted that deceased would have been either innocent civilians or deserters from any insurgent group.

A press release issued by the outfit's senior publicity officer Ksh Yoiheiba asserted that the deceased might have been some innocent civilians apprehended from Imphal or some other places or deserters from insurgent group(s) either arrested by AR troops or who surrendered to them.

They might be some deserters given shelter by Assam Rifles for their utilities and later shot dead after their utilities were exhausted, the outfit alleged.

According to information received by press, there was no incident of any gun-fight in the area on the particular day.

Alleging that there have been several instances where AR troops killed innocent civilians and petty traders after apprehending them from Imphal or Imphal-Moreh Road, the outfit claimed that there were many witnesses who came out declaring the victims were innocent people and that they were pulled down from buses in total contradiction to the Assam Rifles' usual claim that all the deceased were UG cadres and that they were killed in encounters.

Three retired cadres of the UNLF have also been slain under similar circumstances at Lokchao and Kasom after they were pulled up from Imphal.

In all these cases, the security forces always came up with inflated propaganda that they were killed in encounters.

There were cases when it became major issues because of AR's claim of arresting innocent persons from Moreh after they were pulled up from Imphal, the outfit recalled.

Assam Rifles would be certainly knowing the identities of those victims which could not be established till date.

But they have been deliberately concealing the identities just to make their claim of being killed in encounter look authentic as well as to cover up their misdeeds, the outfit alleged.