Nishka Srinivas Veluvali
Published On: December 30, 2021 at 19:59 IST
The Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act [AFSPA] that gives complete authority to the security forces are extended for further six months in Nagaland, where the Army is carrying on with the Court enquiry into an ambuscade that was misfired on December 04.
The Law of AFSPA grants immense power to the military to operate anywhere freely which is been announced as “disturbed area”. No military personnel can be prosecuted in the area where AFSPA is in execution without Centre’s permission.
However, the rights group of Nagaland along with the State government is opposing this Law and seeking the Centre to withdraw the same.
The demand for the withdrawal of the AFSPA law intensified when the ambush of the army’s Para Special Forces went horribly wrong on December 04 in Nagaland where they killed 6 civilians who were returning back home from working at the mines in night. A jawan lost his life when the villagers retaliated in anger.
A massive protest followed this Act which took lives of eight more civilians at the hands of Army.
Nagaland Assembly in one voice demanded for the repeal of the AFSPA from the state and even formed a five-member committee under the guidance of top bureaucrat Vivek Joshi to look into the chances of AFSPA withdrawal from the state.
The Army has also shown its approval to give access to the state’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) to note the statements of the soldiers who were behind this ambush.
Even though it is not yet clarified how the state-level team will proceed with the probe as the state is still under AFSPA Law.
AFSPA has been extended every six months for many years in Nagaland as the state has been the disturbed area for long time.
The main criterion for the AFSPA to be implemented is “declaring the place a disturbed area”, this law finds its roots in the colonial-era which was applied to suppress the protests and riots.