The search company of residents of Oting village, which reached the shooting site near Longkhao stream after hearing gunshots, believes that there was an attempt to kill the dead civilians. Family members of one of the deceased, Shomwang, said he was found half-naked, and that some of the bodies were disguised in clothing.
When India Today visited the shooting site, there were still Lathod bombs alive.
Thirteen civilians were killed There was an unsuccessful operation by the Indian Army’s special forces on Saturday in the Mon district of Nagaland. One soldier lost his life in retaliation by an angry mob of civilians. Another civilian was killed on Sunday when the security forces opened fire targeted by the mob.
Kipwang Konyak, one of the eyewitnesses, told India Today TV that when he reached the shooting spot, he saw a pickup van traveling at high speed. When the locals chased the vehicle, they found three more vehicles along with Army personnel on the spot.
Konyak concurred with Shomwang’s version of the family. He said, “They [forces] tried to change them [deceased persons’] Clothes.”
if it was case of mistaken identity He asked why would the army men try to change the clothes of those who died?
Locals found bullet marks and bloodstains in Shomwang’s car. That’s why they suspected a glitch and decided to check the vehicles. Then they found another pickup van, in which the bodies were kept covered with tarpaulins.
Army goods were thrown on the spot.
Manpeh, who shot the video of the truck with the bodies, told India Today TV: “When we reached there, we saw an army pickup van full of dead bodies, which made me furious.”
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It was a routine for eight coal mine workers to return to Otin from Tiru village near the coal mines every Saturday. When India Today visited the shooting site, there were still Lathod bombs alive.
In another video accessed by India Today, several number plates of Army’s pickup vans in which bodies of six civilians were kept are visible. The presence of these number plates has not been told in the statement given by the central government.
The Nagaland Police in its report on the incident said that the security forces were “trying to hide the bodies by wrapping and loading them in a pickup truck”.