"S.S Khaplang died around 7 p.m. on Friday at the outfit’s camp in Taga,” R.N Ravi, joint intelligence committee (JIC) chief and the interlocutor for Naga peace talks told The Hindu.
Khaplang, a Hemi Naga from Myanmar led the Naga insurgency movement for decades.
He was a co-founder of the deadly NSCN besides two other Naga leaders, Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah.
Later he formed his own outfit in 1988 after differences with Swu and Muivah.
Naga outfits envisage a “Greater Nagalim” or a contiguous land for the Nagas spanning the States of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Myanmar.
In 2015, the NDA government signed a framework agreement with the NSCN (IM) and banned Khaplang's faction for five years for its alleged involvement in a series of attacks on security forces, including an army convoy on June 4 in Manipur’s Chandel district that left 18 army, men dead.
NIA even declared a reward of Rs. 17 lakh for Khaplang’s arrest.
India has on multiple occasions asked Myanmar to hand over four top leaders of NSCN-K, including Khaplang.
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