• Killed on February 6 using sophisticated weapons
• 5 vehicles and 3 houses set on fire by mob, 9-10 houses damaged
• MLA Torechu’s residence attacked
• Cr.PC 144 imposed in Kiphire
A young couple was killed in an outrageous shooting incident at Shamator, Tuensang district on February 6. The couple was enroute to Kiphire when the vehicle they were travelling in came under a barrage of gunfire about 20 kms away from Shamator towards Kiphire, police sources from Shamator informed.
The incident occurred in the evening between 5:00 to 6:00 pm about two kms beyond High Bridge also known as Muru Ke Bridge, the sources added. While motive behind the shooting remained unclear, the police sources said that it appeared to be an ambush as the road was found partially blocked by wooden posts at the site of the shooting.
The two victims, identified as Alemba and Naro, were found dead in the vehicle. They are survived by four children.
According to other sources, the couple was heading to Kiphire from Shamator village. The wife was employed as a nurse at Shamator village medical sub-centre, while the husband was a primary school teacher at Kiphire.
The shooters had used sophisticated weapons as police found around 30 empty shells of US carbine, 7.62 and .303 calibre.
A public funeral of the victims will take place on Monday.
Mob goes on rampage
The news of the killing reverberated in Kiphire district as irate mobs went on the rampage in the district headquarter. According to the police in Kiphire, violence erupted around noon on Sunday after the bodies of the two victims reached the town. Mobs set fire to several vehicles on the road while destroying houses, the police informed.
When the situation went out of hand, the district administration subsequently promulgated Cr.PC 144 at around 3:30 pm. The imposition of prohibitory order did not have much of an impact as people continued to defy the order throughout the afternoon and well into the night despite the police even resorting to firing in the air. One police officer informed that groups of people continued to roam the streets as the police made preventive attempts.
The officer informed that two companies of the NAP (IR) have been deployed and further assisted by the Assam Rifles.
There was however no report of any casualty as a result of the violence at the time of filing this report. The ADC, Kiphire, Dr. Tinojongshi Chang, later updating on the situation at around 11:00 pm informed that movement of civilians has been contained. The ADC informed that 5 vehicles and 3 houses were burned and as many as 9-10 houses were damaged. A house belonging to MLA T. Torechu was also reported to be among the houses targeted by the mobs. It was further informed that an additional two companies of reinforcement was requisitioned
In Shamator, the situation was stated to be tense in certain pockets of the town, while Shamator village remained tense. As the restriction on information emanating from Shamator continues to leave the people in the dark on the ground situation, official sources from Shamator informed that only two platoons of armed police personnel, besides the local police were stationed in the sub-divisional headquarter till the killing of February 6 occurred. One platoon was stationed at Shamator town, while the other was deployed at its namesake village.
Shamator sub-division, on the other hand has been simmering in a virtual ‘cold war’ since the latter part of 2015. The sources though added that additional police force was requisitioned following Saturday evening’s incident.
Will leave no stone unturned: Home Minister
Nagaland State Home Minister, Y Patton, has expressed strong condemnation of the killing. He stated in a press release today that the State Police have been directed to nab the culprits responsible for the crimes and it is the “strong commitment” of the State Government that, “under any circumstances, it will leave no stone unturned to see that peace and tranquillity are not disturbed in the region.”
Maintaining the position of the Government that “violence can never be the means to bring peace and solution,” Patton stated that the Government has been “continuously working to see that peace and tranquillity should not be disturbed in Tuensang district and even have been holding series of meeting with the representatives of various tribal bodies to see that peace and tranquillity prevail in the region.”
“By committing such heinous crimes at a time when the entire Naga people are yearning for peace and unity is not sending a good message to the others,” the Home Minister noted.
Parl Secy condemns
Parliamentary Secretary for Municipal Affairs and Economics & Statistics, R Tohanba, while condemning the killing said: “Such kind of barbaric and cold blood murder of two innocent travellers is beyond human imagination and those responsible for the heinous crime have no place in civilized society. Every right thinking citizen should voice out their indignation on such senseless killings,” Tohanba said. He urged the law enforcing agency to take every possible measure to ensure that the culprits are brought to book and punished as per law. Tohanba also conveyed condolences to the bereaved family members.
Tikhir and Yimchungru organisations condemn
Several Tikhir and Yimchungru organisations have also condemned the killing and called for appropriate action from the law enforcing agencies.
The Tikhir Tribal Council (TTC) appealed to the State Government for action against responsible leaders to “produce the killers or else they should be immediately arrested for culpable homicide as no tribe/tribal leaders are above the law and Government.” The Council maintained that it will “initiate its own course of action deem fit in the event of Government inaction in arresting the killers or those responsible as the earliest.”
The Tikhir Woman Association (TWA), the apex women’s organisation of the Tikhir tribe, in a press release, expressed “utter shock” at the “barbaric act” as “they have not only taken away the lives of Alemba and Naro but also completely shattered the dreams of their beloved children.” The TWA requested law enforcing agencies to “immediately investigate and book those responsible for the killing.”
The Tikhir Students’ Union (TSU) condemned the “inhuman act” and challenged “every individual and society to condemn this killing because this should not happen in our Naga societies.” The TSU urged the State Government, NGOs and State Security to initiate the arrest of perpetrators/ killers and award befitting punishment within no time.
The Yimchunger Akheru Arihako (YAA), Yimchunger Woman Organization (YWO) and Western Yimchunger Hoho (WYH) also condemned the “brutal murder/killing” of the couple by “unknown miscreants” in the “strongest terms.” The joint councils termed the incident as ‘’unfortunate and needless bloodshed” and resolved that it will no longer “leave stones unturned to get to the bottom of the truth and facts.”
Subsequently, the above bodies, on behalf of the Yimchunger public, also condemned the “senseless destruction of Yimchunger households and properties, burning of vehicles, terrorizing innocent Yimchunger public through threat, intimidation and harassment of innocent Yimchunger public at Kiphire Town by an unruly and wild mob.”
They alleged that the destruction included the properties and household of T Torechu, MLA of 60 Pungro- Kiphire A/C, “right under the nose of the administration and security forces of Kiphire district.” The above bodies, under the Yimchungru Tribal Council, urged the State Government and the State law enforcing agencies to “apprehend and to book the culprits and mob leaders at the earliest, and deliver justice to the victims.”
They also condemned the delay in imposing curfew by the State authorities, “which otherwise could have prevented the large scale and unwanted destruction, including the hardships and terrorism meted out on the innocent public.”
