Dimapur, June 11
Nagaland Police have chargesheeted at least 30 members of the 21 Para Special Force, including a Major, in the December 4, 2021, botched Army operations in Oting-Tiru area of Mon district when at least 13 civilians died.
The chargesheet has slapped charges of murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder on the team of soldiers.
The probe which preceded the chargesheet has found that the Special Force Operation team had not followed the Standard Operating Procedure and Rules of Engagement and had resorted to indiscriminate and disproportionate firing leading to immediate death of six civilians and grievous injury to two more.
Addressing a press conference at Chumoukedima Police Complex on Saturday, Nagaland Director-General of Police (DGP) T John Longkumer said the Tizit Police Station case related to the Oting incident where civilians were killed in an ambush laid for militants as a result of mistaken identity on December 4, 2021.
The case was re-registered by State Crime Police Station on December 5 against unknown persons of the Indian Army under Sections 302, 304 and 34 IPC and investigation 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.
The DGP said the probe was complete and the chargesheet was submitted to the District and Sessions Court, Mon, on May 30, 2022, through the Assistant Public Prosecutor.
A case under various Sections of the IPC has been made out against thirty members of the operations team of 21 Para Special Force, including a Major, two Subedar, eight Havildars, four Naiks, six lance naiks and nine paratroopers, he said.
Accordingly, the DGP said the CID report seeking sanction for prosecution was forwarded to the Department of Military Affairs in the first week of April this year and a reminder sent in May.
