Nagaland SIT questions Army personnel

Dibrugarh/Kohima: A special investigation team (SIT) of the Nagaland government Thursday interrogated the personnel of Indian Army's 21 Para Special Forces in connection with the killing of 14 civilians in Mon district in firing by security forces.

This is probably the first time that a unit of the Indian Army is being quizzed by an investigation team formed by a civilian government.

According to sources in Assam and Nagaland, the 22-member SIT interrogated the Indian Army personnel at the Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI) in Jorhat district of Assam. Sources said that the interrogation by the SIT, which is headed by Nagaland Police Additional DGP (Law and Order) Sandeep M Tamgadge, continued till late evening of Thursday and will resume again on Friday morning.

Repeated attempts to elicit official comments from Nagaland Police and Indian Army on the interrogation did not yield any result. The RFRI campus has been put under heavy security cover and entry of media persons was barred.

The Nagaland government had on Wednesday expanded the five-member probe team to a 22-member one and divided it into seven small groups. Officials said the government wants to complete the probe into the violence as soon as possible for quick justice.