Mon, December 30 (MExN): The Oting villagers have expressed resentment against the presence of 3 security force personnel, who were involved in the December 4 killings, during the Army Inquiry Team’s spot inspection of the killing site on December 29.
As cited by the Konyak Union, the Oting Citizens office stated in a press release, today, that the Army Inquiry Team also brought with them 3 commandoes of the 21 Para (SF) involved in the killing of 13 innocent Oting villagers on December 4.
The release said that this was despite the villagers showing the courtesy to allow the Inquiry team visit “ground zero” in good faith and in the hope that the team would examine the surroundings and circumstances with “clear conscious and impartial mindset.”
However, it said that the action of the Inquiry team has only hurt the sentiment of the grieving families while equating it with “putting salt to wound.” While stating that the action contradicts the Army’s claim, it said, “This is proven by presence of those personnel in the inquiry team during their visit to ground zero. What kind of law allows an accused to be an eyewitness to a crime committed by him?”
It added, “We can no longer rely and trust on the words of the Indian army until and unless all the personnel involved in the firing incident are suspended till such time the inquiry/investigation is completed and justice delivered to the victims.”
