Guwahati: The Centre has denied sanction to prosecute 30 army personnel allegedly involved in a botched counter-insurgency operation in Nagaland in December 2021, in which 14 young men were killed, according to the state police.
The army men were named in a charge sheet filed by a Nagaland Special Investigation Team (SIT) that investigated the firing in Nagaland's Mon district.
"The competent authority (Department of Military Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Government of India) has conveyed its denial to accord sanction for prosecution against all 30 accused," said a statement by the Nagaland police.
The Union Defence Ministry's denial of sanction has been conveyed to a court, the police said on Thursday.
On December 4, 2021, six local coal miners at Tiru-Oting area of Mon district were killed by soldiers of the 21 Para Special Forces of the Indian Army. The army, which had fired at a pickup truck carrying the miners, claimed it was a case of mistaken identity. Soon after the incident, angry villagers set ablaze two security vehicles, sparking off another round of firing by the forces, in which at least seven villagers and one security personnel were killed. Amid tension and protests, another Naga youth was killed in firing by security forces in Mon town the next day.
A special investigation team (SIT), headed by the Nagaland police chief, probed the incident and on March 24, 2022, sought the Union Defence Ministry's sanction to prosecute the army men.
The SIT submitted the names of 30 personnel of 21 Para Special Forces in its charge sheet in court on May 30, 2022. The charges against them included murder, attempt to murder and destruction of evidence. The SIT said the miners were "shot with a clear intention to kill".
The Centre's legal sanction is required to initiate any action against security forces for their actions while discharging duties under various laws, including the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives the forces sweeping powers in troubled regions.
The Army also set up an independent Court of Inquiry into the incident, assuring action against anyone found guilty. However, the army said it could not take any action as the case was before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on July 19 paused any proceedings in the case after the wives of the accused security forces personnel requested it to cancel the Nagaland police FIR (First Information Report) and the report of the SIT.