GUWAHATI: A blundered ambush by security forces on Saturday evening and its fallout led to the killing of 15 civilians in Nagaland’s Mon district, forcing the state government and the Army to order independent probes.
Saturday’s civilian toll of 13 climbed after two others were killed when a mob of over 1,000 people attacked an Assam Rifles camp in Mon town, torching its canteen, gate etc.
Several apex tribal organisations decided to withdraw from the state’s ongoing Hornbill festival in protest.
Official sources said four of the six civilians injured during Saturday’s violence were admitted to a hospital in Mon while the remaining two were taken to Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh.
Local tribal organisations claimed 11 persons were injured and two were reported missing.Given the volatile situation and the likely breach of public peace and tranquility, the state government suspended mobile internet/data service/bulk SMS in the entire Mon district.
The district administration prohibited the gathering of more than five persons at a time in public under Section 144 of the CrPC.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, who was in Delhi, rushed to Nagaland. Later in the evening, he chaired a meeting of his cabinet.
He will visit Mon on Monday to attend the funeral.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “This is heart wrenching. GOI must give a real reply. What exactly is the home ministry doing when neither civilians nor security personnel are safe in our own land?”
In what looks like a total intelligence failure, defence personnel had ambushed eight daily wagers at Oting after mistaking them as militants. The victims were returning home in a pick-up truck from a coal mine on Saturday around 5 pm. Six of the civilians were killed and two others injured, a senior district official said requesting anonymity.
When locals heard the sound of gunshots, they rushed to the area, leading to a retaliatory attack in which seven more civilians were killed.
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An Army jawan, who was grievously injured, succumbed to his injuries. The locals also set ablaze vehicles of defence personnel.
On Sunday morning, Nagaland’s Dimapur-based 3 Corps issued a statement stating that a specific operation was planned to be conducted in the area of Tiru in Mon based on credible intelligence of the likely movement of insurgents.
“The cause of the unfortunate loss of lives is being investigated at the highest level,” it said, adding members of the security forces, too, suffered severe injuries.
When pictures and videos of the slain civilians went viral on social media, it triggered a public outrage. People registered their protests out on the streets in some parts of the state. In commercial hub Dimapur, hundreds of them congregated outside the district magistrate’s office and staged a protest.
The Naga Students’ Federation unfurled its flag at half-mast in protest against the killings. Insurgent group NSCN-IM, the key player in the Naga peace talks, described it as “black day” for the Nagas.
“It is learned the killing was the work of the trigger-happy 21st Para Commandos/Assam Rifles,” the outfit said in a statement.