NEW DELHI: Relatives of civilians killed in a botched ambush by the Indian army said on Wednesday they were “disgusted” the Supreme Court had quashed criminal proceedings against the soldiers.

“I am greatly hurt that the court has not been able to deliver justice,” Chemwang Konyak, whose 32-year-old son was among those killed, said. Konyak, 60, said the ruling appeared as if “only the lives of uniformed men matter”.

Indian commandos in the northeastern state of Nagaland killed six miners in Dec 2021 when they fired on a truck, mistaking them for insurgents operating near the frontier with war-torn Myanmar. Nagaland has seen decades of unrest among ethnic and separatist groups, and the army said after the killings that its troops had acted on “credible intelligence”.

Later, officers fired on protesters angry at the deaths, taking the toll to 13 civilians. In addition, a soldier was killed in the violence. At the time, Home Minister Amit Shah vowed a probe would provide “justice to the bereaved families”, and state police pressed charges of attempted murder against 30 soldiers.

But the federal government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to endorse the process. New Delhi’s green light is required to prosecute soldiers operating in hostile areas covered by special laws granting commanders the discretion to prosecute officers.

The Supreme Court in New Delhi ruled on Tuesday that charges against soldiers have to be quashed because there had been no government approval for prosecution. “I am disgusted,” Konyak said. “Thirteen people have been killed, and several have been maimed for life, but there is no accountability.” Sur­vivors say they were shot at despite it being clear that they were unarmed civilians.

Tingshen Konyak, 37, was among a group bringing the bodies of those killed in the initial shooting back to their families when he said soldiers shot him in the hand, removing his thumb.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2024