Black Widow militants marred the celebrations of the first day of the Assamese harvest festival by mowing down four people, including two children, at a Power House of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation, near Umrangshu town in North Cachar Hill district.

The police said that two NEEPCO security guards and two children were killed when suspected Black Widow militants opened fire on the Kopili Power House of the Kopili Hydro-electricity Project of North Eastern Electric Power Corporation, located approximately 22 kilometers away from Umrangshu,  at around 1 pm on Monday.

A group of militants from the Black Widow or Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel Garlosa), the faction of the DHD opposing talks with the government, opened fire at the unsuspecting security guards posted at the Power House gate.

The slain security guards were identified as Suresh Koch and Tolin Lamhare. Suresh Koch's minor daughter, Anamika Koch, was playing near the power house with another young boy. Both of them were killed in the shoot out .

A team of the Assam Police and the Border Security Force rushed to the area and launched a combing operation. The Black Widow group had earlier demanded Rs 50 lakh extortion from the NEEPCO, a central organisation involved in power generation in the North East.