Army to allow SIT to record testimony in Nagaland firing incident

The Army will allow Nagaland's Special Investigation Team to record testimony from troops involved in the December 4 incidents that claimed the lives of 14 civilians in the state's Mon region.

The event, according to the Union administration, was caused by a mix-up in identities because the Army had received intelligence on the movement of radicals in the area.

An inquiry team of the Army probing the botched firing incident in Nagaland was scheduled to visit the incident site at Oting in Mon district on Wednesday.

The Centre set up a high-level committee on Sunday, chaired by a secretary-rank officer, to look into the potential of abolishing the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Nagaland, in an attempt to defuse the increasing tensions in the northeastern state over the 14 killings.

Three days after Union home minister Amit Shah met with Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and his Assam colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma in Delhi, the committee was created. Within 45 days, the panel will present its findings.