Last-rituals, families mourn over 14 civilians killed by Army elites

Funeral of 14 civilians

Heart-wrenching visuals have emerged of grief-stricken families burying their loved ones in a mass grave three days after the horrifying incident happened in Nagaland. Fourteen innocent civilians were killed in a botched op by the Army's elite 21 Para Special Forces.

Almost 12 of the 14 - killed in the Army op that went wrong on Saturday and in retaliatory violence on Saturday and Sunday - were buried last night in a touching funeral ceremony.

The 12 deceased were buried in a mass grave in Oting village in Nagaland's Mon district.

Due to the wrongdoing of the Army elites, one deceased left behind his wife and a two-month-old child. A father stricken with cancer had two sons. One is dead and the other is battling for his life in hospital. The mother of one of the villagers killed has suffered severe mental trauma.

Saddened visuals showed a woman weeping uncontrollably over a coffin. Another of the visuals shows armed security personnel standing by one of the coffins.

The traumatic incident happened on Saturday night, eight of them were killed in an ambush set up by the Army's 21 Para SF. The Army later said the ambush was set after a tip about insurgents' movement. 

According to the police, five more people were killed after other villagers heard the gunshots. The police found the Army team with a major, led by a Major, trying to cover up the incident.

In a report of NDTV yesterday, Army sources said: "the soldiers were trying to take the bodies to the police station; there was never any intention to hide what had happened."

Sources also said the angry villagers, some armed with machetes, had attacked the soldiers and forced them to fire in self-defence. One soldier died in the violence; his throat was slashed.

The Army expressed deep regret for the "unfortunate loss of lives" and has confirmed that the matter is being investigated internally. Yesterday Army sources also defended the initial firing by saying the unit thought they saw a hunting rifle in the truck. But no arms or ammunition were recovered from the truck.