Army made no attempt to identify civilians before shooting, tried to "hide" bodies: Report
Kohima(PTI): The Army made no attempt to ascertain the identity of the civilians returning from work on a pick-up truck before shooting them in Nagaland's Mon district on Saturday, a joint report by the state's Director General of Police (DGP) T John Longkumer and Commissioner Rovilatuo Mor has said.
Quoting eyewitnesses, the two top officials have said villagers found the Army's special forces trying to "hide" the bodies of six people by wrapping and loading them on a pick-up van with the intention of taking them to their base camp.
"On the evening of 4th December around 1610 hours, when eight villagers were returning home from coal mining work at Tiru in a pick-up truck, were ambushed and killed by Security Forces (reportedly, 21st Para Special Force based in Assam) at random, apparently without any attempt for identification," the report, submitted to the state government on Sunday, said.
The officials said the victims were all unarmed civilians working in coal mines. Of them, six were killed on the spot and two critically injured.
On hearing the gunshots, the villagers went to the spot. "On reaching the spot, they found the pick-up truck and the special forces personnel trying to hide the dead bodies of the six villagers by wrapping and loading them in another pick-up truck (Tata Mobile) apparently with the intention of taking the dead bodies to their base camp, the officials have said in the report.
Violence broke out between the villagers and security forces when they discovered the bodies covered with tarpaulin sheets. Angry people then set on fire three vehicles of the security forces, the report said.
In the melee, the security personnel again opened fire against the villagers which led to the death of seven more villagers and eyewitnesses have confirmed that the special forces personnel opened fire indiscriminately as they fled from the scene towards Assam side even firing in the coal mine hutments on the way, they said.
Acknowledging that the first incident was a "case of mistaken identity", Union Home Minister Amit Shah had told Parliament on Monday, "The Government of India sincerely regrets this unfortunate incident in Nagaland and offers its deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives."
The report said altogether, 13 civilians were killed on Saturday while 14 were seriously injured and eight suffered minor injuries.
Two of the seriously injured persons were taken to Assam by the security forces themselves and are admitted in the ICU at Dibrugarh Medical College Hospital, it said.
About the Sunday incident in Mon Town, the DGP and Commissioner's report stated that the Konyak Union had announced a mass funeral service for the 13 deceased civilians at the helipad, after their mortal remains were brought from Oting village, where they were killed.
However, the event was postponed to Monday at 10:00 AM but no clear announcement was made about the deferment, the report said.
The confusion led to the crowd getting agitated, and a section of the public started marching towards the district hospital and Konyak Union office. All the deceased belonged to the Konyak tribe.
The angry crowd vandalised the Konyak Union office, before proceeding towards the 27 Assam Rifles post located at Thamnan Ward.
The violent crowd threw stones, vandalised property and set fire to three buildings within the post. Assam Rifles personnel fired in air which agitated the mob further, the report said.
The civil administration and police officials tried to reason and pacify the mob but were outnumbered. Around around 600-700 people armed with sticks, pipes, flammable fluids and some of them carrying machetes or daos, a sharp edged weapon used by the locals, had gathered there, the officials said in the report.
After almost an hour into the melee, the second round of continuous firing by the Assam Rifles resulted in the mob running for safety. After the firing ceased, a protester from Chi village was confirmed dead on the spot and six others sustained bullet injuries, including an India Reserve Battalion personnel, who were shifted to the district hospital.
Prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 were clamped in Mon town to control the situation but it continues to be tense and volatile, the report added.
The Nagaland Police on its own filed an FIR against the 21st Para Special Force of the Army on Monday. The case was registered under Sections 302/307/34 of the IPC, relating to murder, attempt to murder and criminal act committed by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all.
"Hence, it is obvious that the intention of security forces is to murder and injure civilians, the FIR added, urging authorities to take necessary action against the culprits.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
