Army probe team visits spot of Nagaland killings; Soldiers to face SIT grilling

Kolkata: The Court of Inquiry team, constituted by the Indian Army to investigate the killings of at least 13 civilians in a botched up military operation in Nagaland earlier this month, visited the site at Oting village in Mon district of the North Eastern state on Wednesday

The inquiry team, headed by a Major General rank officer, inspected the site to understand the circumstances in which the incident could have happened, the Eastern Command stated.

It said, "The team also took along the witnesses for better understanding of the situation & how events would have unfolded. Subsequently, the team was also present at Tizit Police Station, Mon District between 1330 to 1500 hours on 29 December 2021 to meet the cross section of the society to obtain valuable information pertaining to the incident."

The state police had lodged an FIR against the army troopers including 21 Para (Special Forces) commandos. The special investigation team of the Nagaland government is likely to start questioning the accused soldiers and record their statements from Thursday after getting a green signal from the army, according to sources.

Earlier, Indian Army had requested twice, through public notices regarding any person having information, to directly share it, either by being present before the Inquiry Team at Tizit Police Station on above mentioned date and time or any input, photo or video related to the incident be shared with them via Phone, SMS or Whatsapp Messenger at +916033924571.

The information may also be shared in person to the Inquiry team at Dinjan military station in Assam. As per the Indian Army, the Court of Inquiry is progressing expeditiously and all efforts are being made to conclude it at the earliest.