NESO demands Centre to sanction prosecution of the 21 Para (SF) personnel involved in Oting massacre

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaSeptember 23, 2024

The North East Students’ Organization (NESO) on Monday demanded that the Centre immediately 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.

This came following the recent ruling by the Supreme Court of India regarding the Oting massacre.

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.

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

“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, showing 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 added.

Jyrwa noted that NESO and its constituent units have repeatedly 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.