In Assam, an armed Kuki extremist was killed by the quick response team of Cachar police in the wee hours of Thursday at Panichowki Punji, a Khasi tribal enclave in the south-eastern fringe of Cachar district. According to police, the encounter between the police and 15 cadres of the Kuki National Front (Military Council) began when the police party reached the village at night following a tip-off. The police had intelligence input that some Kuki extremists, allegedly involved in the raid on a police border outpost at Chekarcham village on Assam-Manipur border last Thursday were hiding in that area. When the rebels sniffed the presence of the police in the village, they started firing in a bid to escape through the cordon. The police fired back in retaliation. A number of arms, including an AK-47 series rifle with 20 rounds of live cartridges, one SLR gun with 30 rounds of ammunition and a grenade, were recovered from the slain extremist and the encounter area.<br/>This is the first skirmish between security forces and militants following the attack on the Chekarcham Border Out Post in Cachar district where the troops, including those of army and 147 battalion of CRPF have been pressed into service in combing operation.<br/> <br/> <br/>