Nagaland Killings: 14 Naga villagers were killed in the Army op and in retaliatory violence that followed
Furious protests over the killing of 14 civilians in Nagaland's remote Mon district earlier this month - during and after an Army counter-insurgency op that went horrifically wrong - have now spread to state capital Kohima.
The influential Naga Students' Federation (NSF) has organised a massive rally in the city, which has seen thousands take to the streets to demand justice for those who died and the repeal of the controversial AFSPA, or Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
Protesters stood with banners and placards that read "how many times must bullets be fired before repealing AFSPA", "AFSPA rears devil in the Indian armies" and "ban AFSPA, not our voice".
Protesters holding up placards demanding the repeal of AFSPA
Today's gathering are significant not just because it is the third straight day of protests, but also because it signals a steady escalation of the Naga people's outrage.
What began as a 'non-cooperation movement' by the Konyak Union (the Konyak Naga tribe's top body) in Mon spread Wednesday, with the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation taking up the fight.
The ENPO, like the Konyak Union, resolved to "abstain from any national celebrations", promised "non-participation in Army civic programmes" and said it would not allow recruitment drives in the area.
Yesterday those protests in the eastern part of the state intensified - there was a dawn-to-dusk bandh in Mon district, government and private offices were shut, and vehicular traffic disrupted.
Protests in Nagaland over the botched Army op that killed 14 innocent civilians
Apart from Mon district, protests hit Kiphire, Tuensang, Noklak, and Longleng districts in the eastern part of the state, where shops were shuttered and angry residents flooded streets.
Protests across the state have highlighted the immediate arrest of the soldiers involved in the botched Army op as one of their demands. They have also demanded Home Minister Amit Shah withdraw a "false" and "fabricated" statement given in Parliament on December 6.
Nagaland Killings: The incident has led to mounting calls for the repeal of AFSPA in the state
Mr Shah had said the Army unit opened fire because the truck carrying the villagers accelerated when ordered to stop. The soldiers, suspecting insurgent activity, opened fire, he said. The comments triggered more furious protests in Mon, where people burned effigies of Mr Shah.
Either way, in the initial burst of murderous fire, six villagers were killed.
No arms or ammunition were recovered from them, or from the truck, and all those in the vehicle were found to be coal miners. In violence over the next 48 hours, eight more villagers and a soldier died.
The Army has expressed its regret over the killings and an internal investigation, led by an officer of Major-General rank, is underway, while the soldiers involved face a murder case filed by the police.
The killings have refocused the spotlight on AFSPA, which gives sweeping powers to military personnel in "disturbed regions". Protesters fear it will be invoked to protect the soldiers involved.
The NSF today sent a memorandum to PM Modi demanding to constitute a court-monitored committee headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge to ensure a free and fair probe.
"The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Nagaland government to probe the December 4 incident would not do justice to the willful acts of the Indian armed forces under the protection of the repressive AFSPA," the memorandum said.
The NSF in its memorandum also demanded the repeal of the AFSPA, justice to the victims, and arrest of the jawans who were involved in the firing.
Detailing the incidents of "killing and torture by the security forces since 1960," the memorandum said that the "government of India continued to suppress the legitimate people's movement through military means even after having realised that the same would not reap in the desired dividends".
"Some Indian leaders coming out publicly to defend the atrocious acts and thereby legitimising the murders, tortures, rapes, molestations upon the innocent Naga civilians and botched Army operations have been deeply hurting the sentiments of the Naga people while also flaring up our emotions," the 6-page memorandum said.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma have led calls for AFSPA to be repealed, both in their respective states and across the northeast.
AFSPA is in place in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (excluding capital Imphal) and parts of Arunachal Pradesh, as well as Jammu and Kashmir. It has been scrapped in Tripura and parts of Meghalaya.