The Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up by the Nagaland government to probe the killing of 14 people in Mon district in December last year, has named 30 Army men including a major, in its charge sheet submitted to court, officials said on Saturday.
A senior Nagaland Police official said that the SIT submitted its charge sheet to the District and Sessions Court in Mon district on May 30 through the additional public prosecutor and named 30 members of the operation team of 21 Para (Special Force) – the major, two subedars, eight havildars, four nayaks, six lance nayaks and nine paratroopers.
“A CID report seeking sanction for prosecution is forwarded to the Department of Military Affairs in the first week of April and reminder letter sent in May. The sanction for prosecution is still awaited. Meanwhile, the charge sheet has been filed, pending sanction for prosecution against the 30 accused.
According to the Nagaland Police, army personnel failed to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) and rules of engagement during a botched anti-insurgency operation in Mon district in December last year, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 civilians.
An army Court of Inquiry is being set up amid controversy over the killings that occurred in Mon district’s Oting area, while a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up by the state government to investigate the occurrence.
TJ Longkumer, Nagaland’s director general of police (DGP), stated an inquiry by the state police indicated that disproportionate firing by a team of the 21 Para Special Forces resulted in the death of locals right away.
“In this case, we have five cases.” Longkumer also stated during a press conference that “the probe is ongoing.”
The Indian Army’s Eastern Command head announced last month that the military had completed the Court of Inquiry, which concluded that “it was a case of mistaken identity and error of judgment.”
Six coal miners coming from work were killed in a bungled ambush by security forces at Oting on December 4 last year, while seven others were gunned down after villagers clashed with soldiers after discovering the bullet-riddled bodies of the laborers on an Army truck.
During the brawl, one security officer was slain. A mob attacked an Assam Rifles camp in Mon town the following day, killing another civilian.
