"We have registered five cases in this regard. The investigation is underway," Longkumer stated while addressing a press conference.
color:#0E101A">Digital Desk: The Nagaland
Police on Saturday said army personnel had not followed the standard operating
procedure (SOP) and rules of engagement during its botched anti-insurgency
operation in Mon district in December last year, leading to the death of at
least 12 civilians.
color:#0E101A"> Amid a massive uproar over the killings in the Oting area of Mon
district, the Army had started a Court of Inquiry (CoI). In contrast, the state
government had set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident. Nagaland's director general of police (DGP) TJ Longkumer said an
investigation by the state police revealed disproportionate firing by a team of
the 21 Para Special Forces led to the immediate killing of villagers. "We have registered five cases in this regard. The
investigation is underway," Longkumer stated while addressing a press
conference. Last month, the Indian Army's Eastern Command chief informed
that the force had completed the Court of Inquiry that found "it was a
case of mistaken identity and error of judgment."
color:#0E101A">On December 4 last year, six coal miners returning from work
were killed in a mishandles ambush by the security forces at Oting, while seven
others were shot down when villagers, angry after discovering the
bullet-riddled bodies of the labourers on an Army truck, grappled with the
soldiers.
One security personnel was also killed in the rumpus. Another
civilian was attacked and killed when a crowd attacked an Assam Rifles camp at
Mon town the next day. Soon after, protests augmented over the Armed Forces (Special
Powers) Act (AFSPA), which has been in force in the northeastern state for
decades and gives immunity to soldiers. As a result, the Act was withdrawn from
15 police station areas in seven districts in Nagaland from April 1.
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