Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, JUNE 9
The assault on five Naga youths by Assam Rifles personnel in Kohima on June 7-8 on mere suspicion has once again brought to attention the infamous Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which has been promulgated in various parts of the north east region including Nagaland since 1958.
The Act gives sweeping powers to the security forces to ‘arrest without warrant’ any person, and ‘shoot to kill’ any person with full impunity in the states where it is imposed.
The five Naga youths, three of whom were grabbed from their vehicle and two while they were strolling by in the street on the evening of June 7 in the heart of the state capital Kohima, were reportedly detained for more than 16 hours and subjected to interrogation and physical assault by the personnel of 19 AR.
They were supposedly apprehended on suspicion of being armed NSCN (K) cadres.
A day after their release, relatives say the victims are deeply traumatized and are currently undergoing medical treatment from their respective homes.
“This is highly condemnable and totally uncalled for, picking up civilians in one of the busiest streets of Kohima and what followed through…. There is no reason to condone such act,” says Neingulo Krome, secretary general of the Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights. While terming it a highly irresponsible act committed upon responsible student leaders and entrepreneurs, the human rights activist lamented that the perpetrators will just get away “as usual”.
He said innocent civilians are victimised in the name of maintaining law and order, and they (armed forces) hide behind the Act (AFSPA). “This is the main reason that many democratic countries across the world, including India, are now debating over this Act. It is high time that the Act is done away with,” Krome said.
An eye-witness of the June 7 incident said he was buying groceries at a shop near Old MLA Hostel junction when he suddenly saw a group of AR personnel rush over to a parked vehicle, pull out the passengers and immediately blindfolding them. “It all happened so suddenly and so fast…. They grabbed two others and there was a slight scuffle then they were all taken away,” he said.
“‘Are you not NSCN (K) cadres? How long have you been in the NCSN (K)?’ were the two questions they (AR personnel) kept asking us over and over as they thrashed us,” recounts one of the victims. He said they were kept blindfolded and their hands tied behind their backs with rope throughout the ordeal.
“Forget about seats, we were not even allowed to relief ourselves of nature’s call,” another victim said. “They removed our blindfold when they decided to release us…I saw then that we were being kept in the confines of an old half-constructed building with only half walls erected,” he said.
Another victim recalls, “I thought I was going to die then, that I would never make it out of the camp and see my loved ones again.”
The victims were reported to have been made to sign documents containing statement of “mutual understanding” that no harm was inflicted upon them during the detention and that they were in good health at the time of their release. It has been learnt that copies of the documents were handed over to the police along with the five victims on June 8 at around noon.
“This is a typical case of abuse of AFSPA by security forces,” says a student activist. He said the brutality of the Act is contradictory to a country that professes itself to be a democracy. “Our people have suffered enough pains of AFSPA and continue to be inflicted by it…. It is time to repeal the Act,” he stated.
