The two members of the Pyu Saw Htee junta aligned militia who shot and killed two Indian nationals in Sagaing Region's Tamu Town are being protected from retaliation by the army, according to locals.
Pyu Saw Htee members shot and killed two Indian nationals, Mr. P. Mohan (28), and Mr Aiyanar (35), near No. (4) Basic Education School in Saw Bwar Ward, Tamu Township, on 5 July at about 2:00 p.m. The Indians came from the Indian border town of Moreh, just across the border from Tamu.
They had come to Myanmar for the day to attend a friend's birthday party.
According to an NUG statement released on 8 July, the Indian men were killed by two Pyu Saw Htee members, Phoe Sein and Zaw Ye, who were commanded by Maung Lay Win, a Pyu Saw Htee deputy commander in Tamu.
'Maung Lay Win, Phoe Sein and Zaw Ye were taken away by the junta troops and they are now hiding on the military base. The Pyu Saw Htee members have been taken and protected by the junta troops, while other Pyu Saw Htee members have fled to the countryside”, A Tamu resident said to Mizzima.
The Pyu Saw Htee commander in Tamu is Chan Myae. Maung Lay Win is one of his deputy commanders.
A local resident said: ' Chan Myae was punished under the NLD government for defaming Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Maung Lay Win was the person who ordered the two Indians to be shot. Now they [the junta]are hateful and resentful and just brutally shoot innocent people.'
Though the residents of both Tamu and Moreh, in India, know that the murders were committed by the Pyu Saw Htee the Military Council publicly denied being responsible for the murders and blamed the killings on Peoples Defence forces (PDFs) at a press conference on 7 July 2022.
Though community leaders in Moreh submitted a memorandum to their Chief Minister demanding that the bodies be returned immediately and compensation be paid to the bereaved families the Military Council administration had the two Indians' bodies cremated in Tamu on 5 July.
The NUG government, local resistance forces and pro-democracy groups have issued statements condemning the Pyu Saw Htee militia's terrorist acts and have extended their deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the two victims.
