Two teams of about 10 policemen each were entrusted with an operation at Darukgre village near the district headquarters town of Williamnagar. According to an input, some GNLA militants were hiding in the village. One team reached the area ahead of the other.
"When the second team reached the place, it mistook the first one to be a group of militants and fired at them. A brief exchange of fire took place in which two personnel were killed," a security official said. The two victims were identified as constables Gopal Prasad and Martin Marak.
Police said the incident took place inside a thick forest after sundown, which, perhaps, was the reason why the second police team could not recognize their colleagues. "An inquiry has been ordered into the incident," a senior police official said.
According to an agency report, state home minister HDR Lyngdoh said the government would soon order a departmental inquiry into the "accidental incident". He said, "I have sought a detailed report from the superintendent of police of the district. The report will be followed by a departmental inquiry."
Garo Hills is a stronghold of the GNLA, a rebel outfit led by a police officer-turned-rogue, Champion R Sangma. It is also the most backward region in Meghalaya and has witnessed a spurt in GNLA's anti-national activities over the past few months.
On June 22, suspected GNLA militants killed an unidentified man and fired near a rival outfit's office near Williamnagar. Bullets of AK47 and INSAS rifles were found in the man's body that was recovered from near the nodal office of the militant outfit Achik National Volunteer Council.