Itanagar, May. 7 (PTI): The army has apologised to the Arunachal Pradesh Government following complaints of atrocities on Namgo villagers in the state's Lohit district in the wake of operations carried out after an IED blast by suspected ULFA militants on April 25.

The apology was conveyed to the Governor S K Singh last night when he called up the commander of the second mountain division Maj Gen N C Marwah. Arunachal Rural Development Minister Chowna Mein had briefed the Governor about the alleged army atrocities on the villagers after the blast in which two army personnel were killed and four others were injured.

The briefing followed an interaction Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu had with his cabinet colleagues. After the briefing, the Governor spoke to Maj. Gen Marwah, based at Dinjan in Assam, and told him that such incidents should not be repeated in future.

Mein, who visited the village, said the villagers were made to clear the jungles and used for searching the bodies. The armymen, he claimed, had confined the villagers without food and water for some time immediately after the blast. The army personnel also allegedly ransacked their houses and destroyed their household articles.