The Nagaland government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. one lakh each to the families of the nine persons whose bodies were found in Dimapur on January 3.
The decision was taken during a state cabinet meeting held in Kohima on Monday, Chief Secretary Alemtemshi Jamir said in a notification. “The cabinet held that the ex-gratia was purely on humanitarian ground without prejudice to the ongoing police investigation,” it said.
Meanwhile, infuriated over the killing of nine Karbis and dumping of their bodies, the Naga Hoho, an apex tribal body in the state has “warned that Naga people would not tolerate the use of Nagaland as a killing field.”
In a statement issued on Monday, Naga Hoho president P. Chuba Ozukum and general secretary Mutsikhoyo Yhobu said, “Whatever be the bond of contention that exist between the Karbis and Rengmas or for whatever reasons that the perpetrators have taken such a drastic action, Naga people will not tolerate the use of Nagaland as a killing field,” said Naga Hoho.
The cabinet appealed to both Karbi and Rengma people to maintain peace and calm in the spirit of age-old fraternal relationship among people of the both communities.
Naga Hoho fervently appealed to all citizens to provide security to Karbi people residing in Nagaland and at the same time urged the Karbis in Nagaland not to create hysteria but to remain calm and vigilant for peaceful coexistence.
HPEC appointment
The cabinet also endorsed the appointment of a High Power Enquiry Committee (HPEC) and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and to pursue the case with all urgency and earnestness so as to bring the culprits to book.
The cabinet decided that the HPEC would be given one month’s time to submit its report.
