KOHIMA: Nagaland Director-General of Police T. John Longkumer (IPS) Rovilatua Mor (IAS) Commissioner, Nagaland, have jointly given their version 0f events that led to the death of 14 Naga civilians in eastern Nagaland's Mon district.
Here's their version of events:
On the evening of 4th December around 16:10 hrs, where 08 villagers were returning home from coal mining work at Tiru in a Pickup Truck, they were ambushed and killed by Security Forces (reportedly, 21 Para Special Force based in Assam ) at random, apparently without any attempt for identification.
They were all unarmed civilians working in the Coal Mines in Tiru valley and possessed no arms travelling in an open Mahindra Pickup truck in broad daylight but were tired upon and six of them were killed on the spot and two critically injured. This incident happened some few Kilometers away from Oting village.
On hearing the gunshots, the villagers went to the spot being apprehensive that the individuals did not return home from work. On reaching the spot, they found the Pickup truck and the Special Forces Personnel trying to hide the dead bodies of the six villagers by wrapping and loading them in another pickup truck (Tata Mobile) apparently with the intention of taking the dead bodies to their base camp.
On finding the dead bodies in the Tata Mobile, under a tarpaulin, violence broke out between the villagers and the Security personnel. As a result, the irate villagers burnt 3 vehicles belonging to the Special Forces Personnel.
In the melee, the security personnel again opened fire against the villagers which led to the death of 7 more villagers and eyewitnesses have confirmed that the Special Forces Personnel opened fire indiscriminately as they fled from the scene towards Assam side even firing in the Coal mine hutments on the way. On the secured crime site, there are a total of 5 (five) vehicles, viz, I.
The Mahindra Pickup in which the civilians were ambushed; 2. One burnt Scorpio; 3. Burnt Bolero; 4. Burnt Tata Winger; and 5. Tata Mobile (not brunt but damaged). Altogether, 13 civilians were killed on that day and seriously injuring 14 (fourteen) civilians and 8 (eight) civilians with minor injuries. Two of the seriously injured persons were taken to Assam side by the Security forces themselves and are now admitted in the ICU at Dibrugarh Medical Hospital.