Former army man injured during Oting massacre wants AFSPA to go from Nagaland

As a paratrooper of the Indian Army, Chongmei Konyak had witnessed many operations during his postings in the militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland. But on the evening of December 4, 2021, Konyak, who quit the army in March 2012, was hit with a bullet on his left leg fired by army personnel at Oting village in Nagaland's Mon district, where 13 innocent villagers were gunned down in two incidents during a botched operation.

The strong protests that the killings triggered made many believe that the victim families would get justice but Konyak, a resident of Tiru village, situated about 20 km away, was skeptical. "I knew that the army personnel would not be punished till the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is in force. The army gets special powers under the AFSPA. So the AFSPA must be removed from the entire Nagaland if we want to prevent similar killings," Chongmei, 43, told DH over phone from Tiru village, on Wednesday.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Nagaland government to investigate the case had filed a charge sheet against all 30 army personnel for their alleged involvement in the killings. But on April 13 (this year), Nagaland police said that the Department of Military Affairs under the Ministry of Defence refused to allow prosecution sanction, which is a must under Section 6 of the AFSPA and Section of 197 (2) of CrPC. The Supreme Court on July 19, 2022 had also stayed any proceedings in the case after wives of the accused army personnel moved the apex court.

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"Now who will the innocent people look up to for justice? There is no hope left until the AFSPA is removed from Nagaland. The AFSPA was imposed to tackle the militants but why are the powers being applied even in case of killing of the innocent people?" Konyak asked. "Almost all the militant groups are in a ceasefire now and the government is engaged in talks with them. So why is the AFSPA required?"

Following the strong demand for withdrawal of the AFSPA, the Centre in April last year removed the act from areas under 15 police stations in seven districts of Nagaland. But the AFSPA is still in force in Mon district. The act was removed from many areas in Assam and Manipur too. Home Minister Amit Shah, during campaigns for Nagaland elections in February, said that he was hopeful about complete removal of the AFSPA in the next three-four years.

No compensation:

Chongmei said he was yet to get any compensation from the government even as family members of those who died got jobs and financial assistance. "I can't work properly due to the bullet injury on my leg. I don't understand why I have not been given any financial assistance, except the treatment."

Chongmei was among several residents of Tiru village who had rushed to Oting after six villagers returning from their work were gunned down by the army at around 4.20pm on December 4, 2021. As the villagers got angry over the killings, a skirmish took place between the army personnel and the villagers.

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Chongmei said he had even removed the magazine of some weapons used by the army team, which resulted in less casualties in the second firing incident. But seven more villagers were killed when the army personnel resorted to firing to control the angry villagers.

"I fell down after being hit by a bullet on my leg and jumped into a nearby nullah to save my life. But I am really upset at the way the government has not provided me any assistance yet," he said.

Chongmei said he is not getting pension from the army too as he had voluntarily quit his service. "I was enrolled in the Service Corps of the army in 1996 but later voluntarily joined the paratrooper unit," he said.