Indian Army’s Civilian Killings in Nagaland Again!

-KAKALI DAS

In a horrific incident that took place on the night of 4^th December where the six villagers from Oting village who were heading back home from coal mining work at Tiru in a Pickup mini-truck were ambushed and killed by the Indian Army . They were unarmed and possessed no hint to be mistaken for militants but were murdered in cold blood.

On hearing the gunshots, the villagers rushed to the spot being apprehensive given that, the individuals didn’t return home from work, only to find the mini-truck and the Indian army trying to hide the dead bodies of the six individuals by wrapping and loading them in their truck.

A local report stated that they tried to act normal and some even put stuff above the dead bodies and sat on it to avoid suspicion. The remains of blood from the mini truck was also attempted to hide by putting sand in it. This indicates that their intention was to hide the blunder made by them.

Upon seeing the sceptical situation there, the village youths who appeared in the incident searched the truck and found the dead bodies after which the violence broke out between the villagers and the army. The villagers burnt down the trucks of the army and started attacking them with Dao and the machete they were carrying with them. Had they carried the locally made guns, the situation would have been even worse for both sides. However, in retaliation to the attack by the villagers, the Army fired them which led to the death of more individuals altogether – 13 dead already and several left seriously injured. There are still some individuals missing in the jungle and their whereabouts are yet to be ascertained as to whether they are even alive or dead.

Security forces have also suffered injuries in the incident including death of a soldier. After the incident, Assam Rifles have issued a statement and said, “Based on credible intelligence of a likely movement of the insurgents, a specific operation was planned out, but its aftermath is deeply regretted.” The statement has also added, ‘the cause of the unfortunate loss of lives is being investigated at the highest level and appropriate action will be taken as per the law.”

Situation appears tense in Nagaland; mobile internet and sms services have been shut down for now in Nagaland’s Mon district area. The people in Nagaland have started observing this day as “Black Day.”

Meanwhile, Nagaland’s Chief Minister has ordered a site investigation into the incident and promised justice. Home Minister, Amit Shah has also taken to a social media site, Twitter, over the incident expressing grief. Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio arrives in Kohima to chair a high-level meeting over the Civilian Killings. Now, a high-level meeting headed by Nagaland’s Director General of Police is presently underway.