Former Mizo underground leader dead

AIZAWL, April 7 ? Kawlvela, a close aide of underground Mizo leader late Laldenga, died here Friday. He was 78 and is survived by wife, three sons and three daughter. A former Indian Army personnel, Kawlvela joined the Mizo National Front led by Laldenga in 1966 when it declared independence from the Indian Union and oversaw the recruitment and training of the underground militants. When the erstwhile Mizo National Army chief Biakchhunga staged a coup against the underground government and overthrew its president Laldenga, Kawlvela opposed Biakchhunga and ultimately defeated him in 1978.