Union Home Minister Amit Shah told Parliament on Monday that the Centre regrets the death of 14 civilians in the Indian Army’s counter-insurgency operation in Nagaland on Saturday that went horribly wrong.
He said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) would inquiry into the incident and file its report in one month.
“The situation is tense but under control,” Amit Shah said in a statement on the incident amid the opposition shouting slogan.
“The Government of India sincerely regrets this unfortunate incident in Nagaland and expresses its deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives,” he said.
The Home Minister said all agencies must ensure that such an incident does not recur.
Shah said the SIT investigation would identify loopholes in the security strategy at a time when hundreds of members of the security forces are patrolling Mon district.
“Such misfortunate incidents are being investigated by the army at the highest level,” he said.
Moments after HM Shah concluded his statement in the Rajya Sabha, the Deputy Chairman adjourned the House for the day as opposition members kept up protests over the suspension of 12 MPs.
The opposition had earlier demanded statements from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and also Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the killing of a group of labourers mistaken for terrorists.
Opposition MPs in both Houses also cautioned the centre against leaving Nagaland in “uncertainty” amid peace talks with different hostile groups in the state.
MPs also demanded to know how intelligence agencies could have provided misleading inputs.