 "Nagaland")
The Centre has denied permission to prosecute 30 Army personnel accused in the killings of civilians in a botched security operation in Nagaland's Mon district in 2021, the state police said on Thursday.
"The competent authority [Department of Military Affairs, Ministry of Defence, and Government of India] has conveyed its denial to accord sanction for prosecution against all 30 accused," said the police in a statement.
Under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), proceedings against security forces for their actions while performing their duties in places the Act is in place requires the Union government's sanction for prosecution.
2021 Nagaland civilian killings
On December 4, 2021, a contingent of the Army's 21 Para Special Force opened fire on a pickup van carrying coal miners in Mon district. Six of the eight villagers on board were killed when the Army contingent mistook them for insurgents.
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Following that, a crowd of protestors set fire to Army vehicles. Seven more civilians were killed when the soldiers opened fire again.
The violence had erupted in the afternoon of December 5 after people broke into an Assam Rifles camp in Mon's district headquarters. At least one more person was killed when security forces opened fire on protesters.
The Nagaland Police named thirty members of the operations team of the 21 Para Special Force, including one Army officer, in its chargesheet in the case.
The police said that "indiscriminate and disproportionate firing" led to the deaths of six civilians and caused grievous injuries to two more.
SC stays prosecution of armymen
In July 2022, the Supreme Court stayed criminal proceedings against 30 Army personnel, citing the state police's failure to obtain prosecution sanction from the Centre.
The court order came after the wives of some Army personnel petitioned the Supreme Court, demanding that the FIR against their husbands be quashed.
On Thursday, the state police stated that the Centre's denial of sanction was communicated to the district and sessions courts in Mon district.
Reacting to the development, the Naga People's Movement for Human Rights stated that the Centre's response came as no surprise.
"In the past 50 to 60 years, no military personnel have been prosecuted for the atrocities they committed against our people," the organisation’s secretary general, Neingulo Krome, told the Hindustan Times.
Naga People's Front legislator Kuzholuzo Nienu also expressed disappointment with the Centre's decision.
"First, justice was delayed. And now justice is being denied," he said.
