The department of Military Affairs under the Ministry of Defence has denied sanction to prosecute the 30 Army personnel who were allegedly found involved in the December 2021 firing incident in Nagaland’s Oting village which killed six civilians, the office of the Director General of Police, Nagaland, said on Thursday, reported The Indian Express.
Security forces, on the evening of December 4, 2021, fired at a pickup truck carrying eight coal mine workers in Mon district of Nagaland, in a case of “mistaken identity”.
While six had died on the spot, two survived the botched-up operation. One security personnel was also killed in the melee. The next day, as protests ensued in Mon town over the killings, another civilian was killed when a mob attacked an Assam Rifles camp.
The DGP’s office, in a statement on Thursday, said, “The SIT after completion of the investigation, on 24/3/2022 had sought Sanction for Prosecution from the Department of Military Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Government of India…It may be mentioned that prosecution sanction from the Government of India is required for initiating any proceedings against security forces personnel for any actions taken by them while discharging their duties under section 197(2) Cr.P.C and Section 6 of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).”
“…Meantime, the competent authority (Department of Military Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Government of India) has conveyed its denial to accord Sanction for Prosecution against all the 30 accused,” said the statement signed by Roopa M, Inspector General of Police, Nagaland, reported IE.
Notably, without the assent of the Centre to prosecute, a precondition to initiate action against security personnel in areas which are under the AFSPA, the legal processes did not progress much.
Following the incident, there were calls to repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in Nagaland, as well as across northeast India. Amid public outrage, the state government had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. Based on its findings, the SIT had filed a chargesheet in May 2022 at the district and sessions court in Mon.
It indicted all 30 personnel of the 21 Para SF team, including the team leader, a Major rank officer, under IPC sections related to murder, attempt to murder and destruction of evidence, among others, pending prosecution sanction.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army also initiated an independent Court of Inquiry to investigate the incident. The Army also said in May last year that it had completed its independent Court of Inquiry, it is, however, yet to decide on the action forward.