The North East Students’ Organization (NESO) has expressed outrage over the Supreme Court’s decision to close criminal proceedings against the military personnel involved in the Oting massacre, where 14 civilians were killed by 21 Para (Special Forces) in the Mon district of Nagaland on December 4, 2021.

In a press statement, NESO demanded the Centre to immediately sanction the prosecution of the 21 Para (SF) personnel “involved in the Oting (Nagaland) massacre” and deliver justice to the victims and their families. “We also reiterate our long-standing demand for the complete repeal of AFSPA in the North East, a law that has no place in a democracy. Failure to do so will only deepen the cycle of mistrust and violence in the region,” NESO Chairman Samuel B Jyrwa said in a statement.

The tragic incident, which occurred on December 4, 2021, in Mon district of Nagaland, “saw the brutal killing of 14 innocent civilians by personnel of the 21 Para (SF), a unit of the Indian Army”, said the NESO.

Despite overwhelming evidence unearthed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the Supreme Court, on September 17, 2024, closed criminal proceedings against the accused military personnel, it added.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling only compounds the sense of alienation felt by the people of the North East, especially as the court itself acknowledged that the case could proceed if the Union Government grants prosecution sanction. This bureaucratic impasse sends a dangerous signal—that the lives of civilians, especially those from the marginalized and often overlooked North East, are dispensable under the draconian cover of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA),” the NESO stated.

The statement also said that time and again, NESO and its constituent units have demanded the repeal of AFSPA, a law that continues to perpetuate violence, impunity, and gross human rights violations across the Northeast.

MT

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