Nagaland: Botched Army Operation Points To Multiple Failures
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-12-06 04:13:58
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An anti-insurgency operation by the elite unit of the Para Special Forces of the Indian Army went horribly wrong in the Mon district of Nagaland, leading to the death of 14 civilians and an Army jawan as the situation went out of hand. The Army unit identified a truck as the target that was supposed to be ferrying militants and attacked it. But the truck had civilian coal mining workers and 6 of them died on the spot while the other 2 died on the way to the hospital. No arms and ammunition were reportedly recovered from the truck.
As new spread, locals assembled at spot in huge number, armed with stones and machetes, and attacked the Army team. In the ensuing fight, the soldiers opened fire once again and 5 more civilians were killed and many others were injured. An Army jawan was also killed while 7 of them were injured. The situation remains tense in the district which is known to be a hotbed of militant activity with both NSCN(K) and ULFA operating from here. The administration has suspended mobile internet and SMS services in the district to stop the circulation of rumours.
There were several things that were not right about the operation. Since the information received by the Army unit was termed classified, the local police and the Assam Rifles (the agency that handles all anti-insurgency operations in the area) were allegedly not informed although some reports suggest that it was indeed Assam Rifles that led the operation. The Army unit acted on intelligence inputs but it is not immediately known whether it was verified from other sources too. Then, instead of surrounding the target, asking militants to surrender and opening fire only if they were attacked, the Army unit allegedly attacked first.
A high-level inquiry has been ordered by the Army to find out what went wrong. The inquiry will obviously focus on whether standard operating procedures were followed or whether the unit disregarded norms. MHA has also ordered an independent inquiry by a high-level SIT. There must also be a reassessment of how the security forces gather intelligence and a re-verification of sources that provide such information.
The botched operation has also brought the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or the AFSPA back into focus. Across Nagaland, including at the site of the famed Hornbill Festival, posters have come up demanding its withdrawal. Although a single botched operation cannot be the reason for withdrawing AFSPA if militant activity is continuing in any state, the government must assess if the AFSPA is really needed. The families of the victims must be suitably compensated and if the Army unit did not follow procedure, those responsible should be punished.
picture courtesy: ndtv.com, caption ours
