Guwahati: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has hit out at the Central government over the death of at least 15 civilians in security forces firing in Nagaland. Rahul described the incident as heartbreaking.
Rahul tweeted, “This is a heart-rending incident. The Central Government should respond. There are neither people nor security personnel, so what exactly is the Home Ministry doing?
According to military officials, the incident took place at Oting in Mon district bordering Myanmar. In this case, a police official said that the exact number of people killed in the incident is yet to be ascertained as 15 people died on the spot. Moreover, several seriously injured persons succumbed to their injuries in hospitals in the neighboring state of Assam.
A high-level inquiry will be conducted by the SIT (Special Investigation Team) into the matter and justice will be done as per law. I urge all sections to maintain peace. ’
Meanwhile, the Army expressed deep regret over the incident on Sunday. It also ordered a ‘Court of Inquiry into the matter. The Army said in a statement, “This incident and what happened next is very regrettable. The matter is being investigated at a high level through the Court of Inquiry and appropriate action will be taken as per law. ’
It may be mentioned that the incident took place between Oting and Tiru villages when some daily wage labourers were returning home from a coal mine in a pickup van on Saturday evening.