Shillong, Sept 23: The North East Students Organisation (NESO) wanted the withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act(AFSPA) and asked the Centre to sanction the prosecution of the 21 Para (SF) personnel involved in the Oting 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 demand came after the recent ruling
by the Supreme Court of India regarding the Oting massacre.
The incident, which occurred on December 4, 2021, in Mon district of Nagaland, witnessed the brutal killing of 14 innocent civilians by personnel of the 21 Para (SF), a unit of the Indian Army.
Despite the evidence brought forward by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the Supreme Court, on September 17 closed criminal proceedings against the accused military personnel as the case could proceed only if the Union Government grants prosecution sanction.
“This decision is an outright denial of
justice to the victims and their families, who have been waiting for accountability.
The SIT, formed by the Government of Nagaland, conducted a thorough investigation, shows overwhelming evidence that
implicated 30 personnel of the 21 Para (SF), including senior officers, in the Oting killings. The charge sheet was submitted to
the District and Sessions Court of Mon, yet the Union Government has refused to sanction their prosecution. This lack of
accountability undermines the legal process and mocks the rule of law, particularly in the sensitive region of the North East,
where historical injustices have left deep scars,” Jyrwa said.
“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),” he said.
Jyrwa also said 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 North East.
The Oting massacre is yet another tragic reminder of how AFSPA enables such heinous acts to occur with little to no accountability, he added.
