Repeal of AFSPA demanded after Tirap firing incident

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: The Tirap, Changlang & Longding People's Forum (TCLPF) has demanded that the Central Government should immediately repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958, from three districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

Referring to the April 1 firing incident at Chasa village involving the Indian army, where two innocent youths were injured, the forum condemned the unprecedented incident, saying that such blatant misuse of the AFSPA by the Indian Army towards civilian must be "stopped immediately."

"Such unlawful acts of the security forces cannot be tolerated time and again," the Forum's president N Changmi said in a statement.

Two youths were "mistakenly" shot at by the Army at Chasa village in the Tirap district on Friday evening when they were returning home after fishing in a river. The Army said it was a case of mistaken identity.

The inured youths were identified as Nokphya Wangdan (28) and Ramwang Wangsu (23).

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

"The in-charge commander of 12 Para Special Forces already confessed their mistake so the incident should be investigated in the highest level at the earliest possible to unearth the truth and deliver justice to the injured persons," the TCLPF said.

The Forum has appealed to the Government of India to repeal the "inhumane" AFSPA from the three districts immediately.

It further urged the Centre as well as the State Government to immediately initiate an enquiry into what it termed as repeated gross misuse of AFSPA in the three insurgency-hit districts of the State.

The TCLPF, meanwhile, prayed for speedy recovery of the injured persons.

Also Read: Army Personnel 'Mistakenly' Open Fire At Two Civilians In Arunachal's Tirap

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