Thirty personnel from the Army’s 21 Para Special Forces, including a Major, have been named in the charge sheet submitted to the courts in connection with the botched encounter in Nagaland’s Mon district in December 2021 that resulted in the death of 13 civilians, according to Nagaland Police.
"A professional and thorough investigation was carried out by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in this case," said Nagaland Director General of Police (DGP) T. J. Longkumer, addressing a press conference at the Chumoukedima police complex on Saturday. “Investigation has revealed that the ops team [21 Para Special Forces] had not followed the standard operating procedure (SOP) and rules of engagement, and resorted to indiscriminate and disproportionate firing leading to to immediate killing of the six occupants of the vehicle [a Bolero] on the spot, and grievously injuring two persons.”
Mr. Longkumer said that a case under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against 30 personnel of the operations team of 21 Para SF, which includes one Major, two Subedars, eight Havildars, four Naiks, six Lance Naiks and nine Paratroopers.
