Minister Rio tweeted this morning that a special investigative team would investigate the matter.
New Delhi:
An anti-insurgency operation conducted by an elite unit of the Indian Army’s Para Task Force in Nagaland went horribly wrong on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of 13 innocent villagers, who considered a militia. An Army rank also lost his life as the situation rapidly deteriorated out of control.
Sources say a covert operation is underway without the knowledge of the police or the Assam Rifles, the paramilitary force that plays a key role in handling the uprising in the area.
The Mon area is a stronghold of the Naga NSCN (K) and ULFA groups of Assam (Asom’s United Front) and is a district that shares an international border with Myanmar as well as a state border with Assam. This area is known to be a sensitive and volatile area.
Around 4 p.m. on Saturday, troops led by a Major, identified a pickup truck on Tiru-Oting Road as the target, and opened fire, sources said.
The truck had 8 people on board – 6 people died on the spot, 2 others died on the way to the hospital. It is believed that all of the people on the truck were local coal miners.
Sources said no weapons or ammunition was recovered from the truck.
Soon after, hundreds of villagers – armed with stones and machetes – attacked the army, the sources said. Sources said the army opened fire in self-defence, in which at least five villagers were killed and several others injured.
One commando was killed and seven soldiers were wounded in the local firefight.
Nagaland Minister Neiphiu Rio, who is in Delhi, has returned to the state and is likely to hold a cabinet meeting, government sources said.
Top officials from the military, police and the Interior Ministry will meet in Nagaland’s capital, Kohima, tomorrow.
SMS services and mobile internet were blocked in Mon district to prevent the spread of rumors.
But by this evening, the situation had turned tense in the town of Mon as angry protesters surrounded the Assam rifle camp. Police sources said they broke into the camp to try to burn part of it.
Minister Rio tweeted this morning that a special investigative team will investigate the matter and justice will be brought under the country’s laws. Mr. Rio will visit the site tomorrow and meet the locals.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrote on Twitter: “Very pleased that an unfortunate incident occurred in Nagaland’s Oting, Monday. My deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. . A high-ranking SIT established by the State government will thoroughly investigate this incident to ensure justice for the bereaved.”
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