The Indian Army 3 Corps in Dimapur has begun an internal inquiry headed by a Major-General rank officer into the Nagaland firing incident that claimed at least 15 lives, sources said. Sources said that during the security operation, a barrel-like caught on the surveillance had added to the suspicion of the workers being part of a terror outfit.

Fifteen people – 14 civilians and a solider – died in a firing incident between Oting and Tiru villages in Nagaland’s Mon district on Saturday evening

Top security sources said that the inquiry team will trace the sequence of events leading to the firing.

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According to sources, Para Special Forces were brought in from Assam for an operation based on specific intelligence about the movement of NSCN (K-YA) cadres. During the security operation, a barrel-like visual was caught on the surveillance mounted on the suspects before they got onto their vehicle. Sources said it was probably a hunting rifle commonly used by villagers here.

The firing occurred when army personnel who mistook some coal mine workers were returning home in a pick-up van to be insurgents belonging to the Yung Aung faction of proscribed outfit NSCN (K). The vehicle was intercepted but it didn’t stop, which prompted the party to fire at the killing 6 civilians and injuring two.

Realising that they had targeted the wrong people, the party sought back up and evacuated the two 2 injured persons in their vehicles. The injured were taken to Dibrugarh for treatment.

When the workers failed to return, villagers launched a search. Soon they came upon the six bodies. They assembled and in anger snatched rifles and radio sets from the troops. They then attacked the troops with machetes and pelted stones at them.

Another incident of violence by a mob against an Assam Rifles camp was reported in Nagaland on Sunday after ‘confusion’ concerning the date of the mass funeral service for those who were killed in Saturday’s firing incident. One civilian was killed in the retaliatory action by Assam Rifles, the Nagaland DGP’s report stated.