Nagaland Govt to ask Centre to "immediately repeal AFSPA"; Hornbill called off

KOHIMA: In the Nagaland cabinet's meeting over firing incident in Mon, Nagaland, it's been decided to write to the the Centre "to immediately repeal AFSPA, 1958 from the State, and that Special Investigation Team formed by Centre should complete its investigation and submit its report by one month time.

The Cabinet also decided to cancel the ongoing Hornbill festival celebrations to express solidarity with the Konyaks and maintain a sense of unity.

Addressing a press briefing at the Nagaland Civil Secretariat today, Spokesperson for the State Government and Minister for Planning, Neiba Kronu stated that an emergency Cabinet meeting was called to discuss the firing incident in Mon district and the subsequence incident that followed in Mon town.

The Cabinet was briefed on the actions taken by the government including setting up of a Special Investigation Team headed by an IGP and consisting of four other members.

The Cabinet decided that the SIT should complete its investigation and submit its report by one month time. The Cabinet has also decided to write to the Government of India to immediately repeal the Armed Forces Special Power Act, 1958 from the State, he added.

He also stated that the Cabinet has decided to support the demands put forward by the Konyak Union to the President of India.

It needs mention here that thirteen villagers and a soldier were killed at an Indo-Myanmar border district in Nagaland as a counter-insurgency operation went awry on Saturday, sources said. Another villager died as a mob attacked the Assam Rifles camp.

Public gathering of more than five people at a time has been banned in the Mon district of Nagaland, and movement of all vehicles of non-essential nature, including commercial vehicles, has been prohibited under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code(CrPc).

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