Naga leader Khaplang dies in Myanmar (Lead)

New Delhi, June 9 (surya) S.S. Khaplang, who headed his faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K), has died at his residence in Myanmar, NSCN sources said on Friday.

Khaplang, who was a diabetic and suffered from other health issues, passed away in Taka, the sources told IANS.

Khaplang, whose faction had pulled out of the ceasefire with New Delhi, carried a reward of Rs 7 lakh on his head for his capture.

National General Secretary of BJP Ram Madhav tweeted: "News is that NSCN(K) leader Khaplang is dead... Leadership taken over by Khango Konyak."

"Khaplang was one of those who never compromised with his ideology and principals, come what may. Till his death, he believed only sovereignty from both sides (India and Myanmar) can bring Nagas together. 

"Now it will be a interesting to see how his boys carry his legacy forward," P. Tikhak, formerly a senior military commander with Kaplang's group and now the founder of NSCN-Reformation, told IANS.

Asked if NSCN(K) could return to ceasefire with the government, Tikhak said there was a very bleak chance for the group to have truce with the Indian government.