Following an internal dispute, a self-styled commander-in-chief of the United People’s Revolutionary Front (UPRF) was shot by his own comrades at Karbi Anglong districts in Assam’s southern highlands on the night of Saturday and Sunday, leaving the organisation leaderless.

According to authorities, Mangin Khalhau, also known as Veeraappan for his suspected participation in wood smuggling, was the sole senior member of the organisation who lost many leaders to police encounters while several others surrendered in the last year.

On Sunday, at Khengpibung, a steep area on the outskirts of Bokajan town, roughly 56 kilometres from Karbi Anglong district headquarters Diphu and about 15 km from neighbouring state Nagaland’s economic capital Dimapur, a dispute erupted within the group over internal concerns.