Senior Assam policeman shot during anti-drug operation, airlifted to Guwahati

A police team, including the SSP, recently reviewed security arrangements in riverine and vulnerable stretches along the Assam–Manipur border, reflecting ongoing concerns about drug trafficking and border security.

Police said no arrests had been made so far as the suspects escaped through dense forest and across the inter-state border. A search operation was underway and further investigation was in progress.

A video circulating on social media showed the injured officer seeking help from locals to contact his seniors. Some locals alleged that Kazi had been sent alone to confront the peddlers and was not in uniform; police denied these claims, saying a full team was deployed and some personnel were in plain clothes.

Cachar senior superintendent of police Sanjib Saikia said the anti-drug operation was launched based on intelligence inputs about movements of drug peddlers, suspected to have come from Manipur. He stated the peddlers opened fire during the exchange, fled into the forest taking advantage of darkness, and that a full team was deployed with some personnel in plain clothes as part of the operation.

On the morning of May 6, 2026, Havildar Sharif Hossain Kazi, after initial treatment at SMCH, was airlifted to Guwahati for advanced treatment.

Around 8 pm on May 5, 2026, in the Diglang area of Jirighat, Cachar district, a 55-year-old Havildar Sharif Hossain Kazi was shot twice by suspected drug peddlers during an anti-drug operation based on intelligence that the peddlers were moving from Manipur. He was first taken to Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) with two bullet injuries (abdomen and below it) and severe trauma.