Oting killing case: Protracted probe process imminent
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: December 06, 2022 -

Regardless of the Supreme Court's decree some years back that there should be no exemptions when it comes to law of the land, particular when harm is caused to law abiding citizens, the demand being raised by Konyak Union or any other civil and rights organisations for initiation of punitive action against security force personnel involved in the Oting killings in Nagaland's Mon district on December 4, 2021 might not fructify anytime soon unless concerned bodies approach the court of law.

With all the political parties eulogising on the country's military might in protecting national interests, diligence of the police in maintaining law and order and trumpeting on their success tales to take political mileage during elections it is obvious that no government would dare to take any harsh and swift action against the men in uniform unless their criminal involvement is related to fratricidal cases or off-duty offences.

On the contrary, for cases related to slaying of suspects or innocent civilians when the soldiers or police are in the line of duty, government as well as security establishments had been generally taking extreme care to ensure that the charges levelled are thoroughly examined and accused given ample time to explain their situation even if the matter drags on for years and causes immense frustration to the parties in grief.

As such, it would be wishful thinking for the Konyak Union that the centre would give the prosecution sanction against the Army personnel who as per prima facie evidence are guilty of killing 13 civilians in Mon district.

As had been widely reported in regional, national and international media, last year on December 4, a column of the elite Indian army commandos gunned down six coal miners near Oting village after mistaking them for members of an insurgent group with seven more, including a soldier, losing their lives in mob attacks and retaliatory firing.

As the incident led to impromptu cancellation of Nagaland's Hornbill Festival, sparked outrage across the northeast and witnessed renewed calls for repealing of the pro-military AFSPA1958 from the whole region, the Nagaland government acted promptly in constituting the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which carried out investigation and filed the charge-sheet.

Thus, it is but natural that the Konyak Union would be peeved with the central government not granting sanction to prosecute the 'culprits' or book them considering the fact that the SIT had named 30 security forces personnel in its charge-sheet for the killing of 13 civilians in the botched military operation apart from concluding that the security forces did not follow standard operation procedures and rules of engagement.

That probe and justice delivery .processes for incidents involving security personnel as the accused party are time consuming exercises could be comprehended from the Supreme Court asking the CBI to probe into 98 cases of alleged stage managed killings in Manipur in a decade's period out of 1528 such victims as claimed by rights organisations in the apex court.

Taking due cognisance of the unprecedented scale of killings, purportedly in counter-insurgency operations, the Supreme Court ordered for investigation but years after the apex court's decree, there has been no significant progress made by the probe agency with exception of the July 2009 broad daylight killing of Ch Sanjit and Th Rabina, the case hearing of which commenced only last week.