Nagaland, Meghalaya CMs demand repeal of AFSPA in wake of civilian killings

In Assam as well, opposition parties echoed their demand for the repeal of AFSPA.

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New Delhi: In the wake of civilian killings by the Indian Army in Nagaland, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Monday demanded the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from the state stating that the law has tarnished the image of the country.

"I have spoken to Union Home Minister, he is taking the matter very seriously. We have given financial assistance to affected families. We are asking the Central government to remove AFSPA from Nagaland. This law has tarnished the image of our country," Rio said after attending the funeral of civilians killed in the firing incident at Oting village in Nagaland`s Mon district.

Rio on Sunday had ordered a high-level probe into the reported killings of civilians.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma also demanded the removal of AFSPA from the northeast.

"AFSPA should be repealed," tweeted Sangma.

In Assam, opposition parties echoed their demand for the repeal of AFSPA. Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi condemned the firing in Mon district of Nagaland and demanded immediate arrest and punishment of all involved in it.

He also demanded that the National Investigation Agency be entrusted with enquiry into it and the incident be declared as a terrorist act.

In a video statement shared through social media, the lawmaker said, “We have been seeing the army committing such excess on innocent civilians in the northeast region in the name of counter-insurgency operations.”

“The armed forces work under the cover of the AFSPA in the region and do not have to face any court of law. It conducts its own internal enquiry and the people do not get to know whether a case reached its logical conclusion or not,” Gogoi added.

“(The) Nagaland killings are a caricature of the Indian Govt. Revoke AFSPA,” Gogoi also wrote on Twitter.

Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) president Lurinjyoti Gogoi also took to Twitter to vent his opposition to AFSPA.

Condemning the Mon firing incidents, he wrote, “It’s heartbreaking to see civilians being gunned down by the same forces that were meant to protect them. I demand that laws like #AFSPA be repealed from the #NorthEast. #Nagaland.”