Nagaland: Army Inquiry Team To Visit Incident Site Of Civilian Killings

An Indian Army inquiry team investigating the December 4 incident which resulted in the killing of innocent civilians in Nagaland, will be visiting the incident site in the state's Mon district on Wednesday.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Defence, Kohima tweeted on Monday, "In reference to Indian Army inquiry into December 4 incident at Oting, Nagaland, the Army Inquiry Team will visit the incident site on December 29. The team will also be present at Tizit Police Station, Mon District on the same day".

Notably, 13 civilians were killed on December 4 by the 21 Para Special Forces (SF) on the Army in a botched operation which was later claimed to be a counter-insurgency operation in the Mon district of Nagaland.

The Nagaland Police had in an FIR against the Para Forces stated that the firing was without any provocation and intended to injure and kill civilians. The FIR lodged at the Tizit police station read, "On reaching at Langkhao between Upper Tiru and Oting village, security forces fired at the vehicle without any provocation, resulting to the killing of many Oting villagers and seriously injured many others".

Meanwhile, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been formed by the state government to investigate the unfortunate incident.

The Army has expressed regret over the killings and assured that the investigation into the incident was progressing at a steady speed.

In an official statement on December 25, the Army said, "The inquiry ordered by Army is progressing expeditiously and all efforts are being made to conclude it at the earliest. We have taken out notices for people to come forward and assist us in the inquiry".

The Army also added it is fully cooperating with the SIT formed by the Nagaland government and required details were being shared on time.

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