Two villagers shot at by Army in Arunachal, Army says ‘mistakenly’ happened

Two civilians were “mistakenly” shot at by the Army in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, Army said on Saturday.

The incident happened at Chasa village on Friday evening when the two villagers Nokphya Wangdan (28) and Ramwang Wangsu (23), were returning home after fishing in a river, PTI news agency reported.

The two injured villagers were sent to the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh by the Army for treatment.

One of the injured was hit by a bullet in the ulna of his hand, while the other’s bullet injury was on the toe, according to AMCH superintendent Dr Prasanta Dihingia.

“Both of them are orphans. Now, one’s hand is injured and another’s leg is wounded. The government will have to do something for them,” PTI news agency quoted a villager as saying.

The incident happened months after 14 civilians were shot dead by the Army in a botched anti-militancy operation in neighbouring Nagaland’s Mon district.

The incident had triggered widespread protests, demanding the withdrawal of the draconian AFSPA.

While AFSPA was withdrawn from certain parts of Nagaland, Assam and Manipur on Thursday, the Centre on Friday extended the law in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh, including Tirap, for another six months till September 30.

On March 21, two suspected insurgents of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) were killed, while one was injured in an anti-militancy operation by security forces near Old Kolagaon village, around 25-30 km from Khonsa, the headquarters of the Tirap district. However, a day later, the NSCN issued a corrigendum, saying that of the two, one was an office-bearer of the NSCN while the other was a civilian