Nagaland civilians killing: Case of mistaken identity, SIT to complete probe in 30 days, says Amit Shah
“Government expresses regret over the incident and offers condolence to members of the bereaved family. It was a case of mistaken identity ... an SIT team has been directed to complete the probe within 1 month,” Shah said.
FollowHome Minister Amit Shah on Monday gave a statement on the Nagaland firing incident in both the Houses of the Parliament and said that he regrets the killing of civilians in Nagaland, but it was a case of ‘mistaken identity’. He also said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the incident. The team will submit the report in 30 days.
“Army had received info on the movement of extremists in Oting, Mon. On that basis, 21 commandos laid an ambush in the suspected area. A vehicle reached there, it was signalled to stop but it tried to flee. On suspicion of the vehicle carrying extremists, it was fired upon,” Shah said.
“Government expresses regret over the incident and offers condolence to members of the bereaved family. It was a case of mistaken identity ... an SIT team has been directed to complete the probe within 1 month,” Shah said.
“6 out of the 8 people in the vehicle died. It was later found to be a case of mistaken identity. 2 others who were injured were taken to the nearest health centre by the Army. After receiving news of this, local villagers surrounded the Army unit, set 2 vehicles on fire and attacked them,” he added.
“As a result, one jawan of the security forces died; many other jawans were injured. Security forces had to resort to firing for self-defence and to disperse crowds. This caused the death of 7 more civilians, some others injured. Local administration-Police tried to bring the situation to normalcy.”
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Shah told the House that the situation is tense but under control in Nagaland. “Current situation is tense but under control. On December 05, the Nagaland DGP and Commissioner visited the site. FIR registered and keeping the seriousness in mind, probe handed over to State Crime Police Station,” Shah said.
“After the incident, on Dec 5 evening, an agitated crowd of around 250 people vandalised the company operating base (COB) of Assam Rifles in Mon city and set the COB building on fire. Assam Rifles had to fire bullets to disperse the crowd. This caused the death of one more civilian.”
Shah further stated that, “In a bid to avert any more incidents in the affected area, additional forces have been deployed. A press statement has been issued by Army's III Corps HQ where the incident of the unfortunate deaths of innocent civilians has been regretted. The Army has taken up investigation into the reasons behind this incident at the highest level, action will be taken as per the law. I immediately contacted the Governor and CM of the state after receiving the news of the incident. MHA also contacted the Chief Secretary and DGP.”
He asserted that it has been decided that all agencies should ensure that such unfortunate incidents do not take place again in the future while taking up such drives. The government is monitoring the incident minutely and necessary remedial measures are being taken to ensure peace in the area.
