Nagaland Murders: Interior Minister Amit Shah said the Center regrets the deaths of 14 civilians.
New Delhi:
Minister of Internal Affairs Amit Shah told parliament today that the Center regrets the deaths of 14 civilians in one military counter-insurgency operations in Nagaland on Saturday something terrible went wrong. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) will investigate the incident and issue a report in a month, he said.
“The situation is tense but under control,” Amit Shah said in a statement about the incident, speaking before a chanting of opposition slogans that ended with a walk in the Rajya Sabha.
“The Government of India sincerely regrets this unfortunate incident in Nagaland and sends its deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives,” he said.
Mr. Shah said all agencies must ensure that such incidents do not recur.
He said the SIT investigation would identify a loophole in the security strategy at a time when hundreds of members of the security force were patrolling the Mon district. “Such unfortunate incidents are being investigated by the military at the highest level,” he said.
Moments after he concluded his statement in the Rajya Sabha, the Vice Speaker adjourned the House of Commons for the day as opposition members continued to oppose the suspension of 12 MPs.
The opposition had previously demanded statements from Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and also Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the killing of a group of workers mistaken for terrorists.
Opposition MPs in both houses also warned the center not to leave Nagaland in a state of “uncertainty” amid peace talks with various hostile groups in the state.
The MPs also demanded to know how intelligence agencies could provide false input.
On Saturday, 14 villagers and one soldier died in Mon District of Nagaland after an Army operation to track down the insurgents didn’t go according to plan. An FIR police officer said the Army’s Task Force 21 Para had “blatantly opened fire”.
“In order to defend themselves and disperse the crowd, the forces opened fire and killed seven civilians,” Amit Shah said.
The military also expressed its deep regret over the “unfortunate loss of life” and said the matter would be investigated at “the highest level”.
The army arranged an ambush based on false advice about the movement of insurgents.
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