Amritsar, December 9
A Nagaland-based organisation — Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights — rejected the claims of the Indian Army’s counter-insurgency operation as a “mistaken identity” and its retaliatory violence claiming the lives of 14 civilians in Oting village in Mon district of Nagaland.
A 12-member delegation of the Nagaland organisation reached Amritsar today to participate in a conclave of minority communities being attended by Sikhs, Kashmiris, Nagas and Tamil people. The event has organised by Dal Khalsa to mark International Human Rights Day on Friday.
On Saturday evening, a special unit of the Army mistakenly opened fire at a pick-up van carrying coal miners from the Tiru area to Oting village (about 15 km away), killing six on board. Seven more civilians and a soldier died when villagers, alarmed by the gunshots and the death of their brethren, clashed with the troops about an hour later.
Neingulo Krome, secretary of the Nagaland organisation, said though the Centre had expressed grief and termed it as a case of mistaken identity, it was a totally fabricated botched operation that claimed innocent lives.
“The ones who lost lives were local labourers who used to take the same route to reach their work place. After killing them, the forces also tried to brand some civilians as militants by planting weapons and dressing them in camouflage and boots,” he alleged.
Former secretary general of the organisation Dr Veenuh said after the abolition of Article 370 and 35 in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre had turned a blind eye to the rights of Nagaland residents.
“In 2015, the Government of India led by PM Modi and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland had entered into an agreement to respect Naga people’s separate identification and existence for sharing the sovereign power to end the violent confrontation once and for all. It was recognised by the erstwhile Atal Bihari Vajpaee government too. Now, the Modi-led government has refused to implement it,” he said. — TNS
Army's claim of mistaken identity false: Nagaland body
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