Nagaland firing: Government asked to make SIT probe report public

Naga civil society organisations on Tuesday demanded that the Nagaland government make public the findings of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by it to probe into the killing of 14 civilians by security forces in Mon district last month.

Following the killing of 14 civilians by army para-commandos in Oting area in a botched up operation and its aftermath, the state government set up the SIT and asked it to submit its report within 30 days that ended on January 5.

A section of the Nagaland media on Tuesday reported that the SIT has submitted a preliminary report to the government.

Police sources said that enquiry of the personnel of 21 para-commandos stationed at Jorhat in Assam was done only on December 30 while investigations into some other issues are also in progress.

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These are the reasons the final report is yet to be submitted, the sources said.

Global Naga Forum (GNF), an organisation that works for the rights of the Naga people, said the state government is yet to make the preliminary report public.

GNF Convenor Chuba Ozukum said the findings of the SIT should be made public for all to understand the reality.

Naga Students’ Federation, an influential body of Naga students and youths in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland, also said the report should be in the public domain.

A Dimapur-based organisation of the Konyak tribe also raised the same demand.

Thirteen of the 14 people killed by army personnel on December 4 and 5 belonged to the Konyak tribe, one of the major tribes of Nagaland.

They were killed in three consecutive episodes of firing by security forces, the first of which has been claimed to be a case of mistaken identity.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had told the Lok Sabha that the army had received information on the movement of insurgents in Mon and ’21 Para Commando’ unit had laid an ambush.

“A vehicle was signalled to stop but it tried to speed away. Suspecting the presence of insurgents in the vehicle, the security personnel opened fire, leading to the death of six of its eight occupants,” Shah said.

Regretting the death of the civilians, he had said security forces fired in self-defence.

Eight others, including an army man, were killed in subsequent clashes between the force and villagers.

Several political parties have contested the government version that the vehicle was asked to stop.

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