SP Nitya Nanda Goswami of Hamren police district was leading an operation again the insurgent outfit in remote Rongthang forest area where they came face to face with a large group of the ultras who opened fire on them last night, Additional Director General of Police (rpt) Additional Director General of Police A P Rout told PTI today.
The police team retaliated and in the ensuing encounter, Goswami and his personal security guard were killed, Rout said.
The bodies of Goswami and his PSO were recovered this morning, he said.
The IGP described the SP's operation as a "gallant action".
The KPLT, formed in 2010, has been demanding creation of a Hemprek Kanthim (self-ruled homeland) for the Karbi people.
It is a breakaway anti-talks faction of the ethnic insurgent Karbi Longri N.C. Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF).