- NET Web Desk
Atleast 30 members of the 21 Para Special Forces, including a Major have been named in the charge-sheet filed by Nagaland Police; over a botched army operation on December 4, 2021 at the Oting-Tiru region of Mon district, killing 14 civilians.
The probe which preceded the charge sheet determined that the Special Forces Operation team violated the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and the Rules of Engagement, by firing indiscriminately and disproportionately, killing six civilians and injuring two more.
Addressing a press conference at Chumoukedima Police Complex on Saturday, the Director General of Police (DGP) of Nagaland – T John Longkumer said that the Tizit Police Station registered a case on the Oting massacre, where 14 civilians were killed in an ambush on December 4, 2021 at Mon district.
This unfortunate incident was basically the repercussion of botched army operation, which mistook the civilians as insurgents from the Yung Aung faction of the banned militant outfit – National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K).
On December 5, the case was re-registered by the State Crime Police Station against unknown members of the Indian Army under sections 302, 304, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, and the investigation was handed over to a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
“A professional and thorough investigation was carried out by the SIT” in this case, he said adding that various evidences including relevant important documents from various authorities and sources, scientific opinions from Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) Guwahati, Hyderabad and Chandigarh and technical evidences from National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology were collected during the course of investigation, he said.
The DGP said the probe was complete and the charge-sheet was submitted to the District and Sessions Court, Mon on May 30, 2022 through Assistant Public Prosecutor, Mon.
A case under various sections of the IPC has been made out against thirty 30 members of the operations team of 21 Para Special Force including a Major, two Subedar, eight Havildars, four Naik, six lance naik and nine paratroopers, he said.
