Chief of the army staff, General Manoj Pande on Tuesday said that investigation into the tragic civilian killings in Nagaland’s Mon has been completed.

He said that the report of the investigation of the unfortunate incident done by the army is under legal scrutiny at the moment.

The army chief said, “Investigation into the Mon incident has been completed. Report has been submitted and is under legal scrutiny.”

Gen Pande assured that action would be initiated against army personnel if they were found guilty based on the report of the investigation.

“If any personnel are found not following standard operating procedures and guidelines, action as per the due process of military law will be taken,” he said.

It may be noted that a high level inquiry into the incident had been ordered by the Indian army after civilians in Nagaland’s Mon district were killed in a firing by the security forces.

In a case of mistaken identity, security forces waiting to pounce on a group of militants, fired at a vehicle carrying civilians mistaking them for extremists in December last year. As many as 13 civilians were killed in the incident as the 21 para special forces of the Indian army fired indiscriminately in a botched counter-insurgency operation.

Following this, violence broke out as villagers attacked an Assam Rifles camp in anger. In retaliation, troopers again fired at the villagers. A trooper and another villager were killed in the incident.