India to make panel soon over AFSPA in Nagaland

DAYS after the killing of 14 civilians by security forces in Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, the chief minister of the north-eastern state on Sunday (26) said the Narendra Modi government has decided to set up a five-member committee to look into the withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, or AFSPA from the state.

The committee will be led by the ministry of home affairs’ additional secretary (northeast) and will include the chief secretary and Nagaland’s director general of police, besides the inspector general of Assam Rifles (North) and a representative of the Central Reserve Police Force.

ALSO READ: Nagaland to ask Modi government to scrap AFSPA law

According to a joint statement issued by Rio, Nagaland’s deputy chief minister Y Patton and leader of Naga Peoples Front Legislative Party TR Zeliang in state capital Kohima, the panel will submit its recommendations within 45 days and based on them, the decision on whether to continue designating Nagaland as a “disturbed area” or withdraw AFSPA from the state will be taken.

Amit Shah speaks on Nagaland violence, opposition walks out

The decision was made during a meeting chaired by Indian home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on December 23 to discuss the current situation in Nagaland.

Besides the trio who issued the statement, the meeting was also attended by Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of another northeastern state of Assam and convener of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).

“A court of inquiry will initiate disciplinary proceedings against the army unit and personnel who were involved in the Oting incident, and action will be taken against them on the basis of a fair probe. The identified persons facing the investigation will be placed under suspension with immediate effect,” the statement said.

The demand for the withdrawal of AFSPA from Nagaland gained steam in the wake of the deaths of 14 civilians by security forces, a case which the authorities said was of mistaken identity, earlier this month.