Although there is no fresh incident of violence, simmering tension continues in Nagaland, particularly in State Capital Kohima and its commercial hub Dimapur where an indefinite curfew is still in force and the Government is yet to lift the restriction on use of mobile data services and internet services.
Curfew was clamped in Kohima and Dimapur on Thursday after an irate mob torched several government buildings and two buses on while agitating against the women reservation quota and subsequent death of two youths in police firing in Dimapur.
“The crowd has dispersed and the final rites of the two youth killed in police firing have been completed today. However, the curfew in Kohima and Dimapur continues. We are also not going to lift the ban on use of mobile service and internet today. The situation is under control and gradually coming back to normal. There is no fresh incident of violence today,” said Nagaland Director General of Police (DGP), ll Doungel while talking to The Pioneer.
Thousands of crowd gathered in Nagaland capital Kohima on Thursday morning and held the city hostage by calling a bandh protesting over the death of two youths in police firing at Dimapur on Tuesday night. The mob backed by Nagaland Tribal Action Committee, a conglomeration of major tribes organizations in Nagaland, also set a deadline of 4 pm on Thursday for resignation of Chief Minister TR Zeliang and his cabinet colleague.
The mob went berserk after expiry of the deadline of 4 pm and torched 50 year old building of Kohima Municipal council that also housed different government offices and torched two government buses and vandalized some small vehicles in the area.
“The crowd first torched the building of Kohima Municipal Council and then it spread to other adjoining areas before the fire tenders could douse the fire. Two buses and some smaller vehicles parked in the area were also torched,” said the DGP.
It may be mentioned here that people from all walks of life participated in a peaceful prayer service in the heart of Kohima today for the two youths, who were killed in police firing at Dimapur on Tuesday. The prayer service was conducted by the Kohima Baptist Pastors' Fellowship at the spot where the bodies have been kept since Wednesday evening.
On Thursday Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang, ordered a judicial probe into the killing of two youths in police firing in Dimapur on Tuesday night and transferred the Dimapur Commissioner of Police and his deputy so that the probe could be impartial. The Chief Minister also declared the civic polls held in 12 civic bodies as null and void and appealed the people for allowing to complete the final rites of two youths.
On Tuesday violence erupted in Dimapur and longleng towns of Nagaland as people came out to streets to oppose the government's decision to hold civic polls the next day that led to killing of two youths and injury of over a dozen. While the government had on previous day decided to defer the polls, a judgement by the Gauhati High Court asked the government to hold the polls under security. Majority of the tribal organizations are opposing the 33 percent reservation for women in the civic polls.