Nagaland firing incident will be thoroughly probed: Army chief Naravane

New Delhi, Jan 12: The Nagaland firing incident will be thoroughly proved, said Army Chief General MM Naravane, stressing that the overall security situation in the North east remains under control.

"The regrettable incident that occurred in Oting, Nagaland on Dec 4 is being thoroughly investigated. We remain committed to the security of our countrymen, even during the conduct of operations," said Naravane.

Thirteen of the 14 people killed by army personnel on December 4 and 5 belonged to the Konyak tribe, one of the major tribes of Nagaland.

They were killed in three consecutive episodes of firing by security forces, the first of which has been claimed to be a case of mistaken identity.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had told the Lok Sabha that the army had received information on the movement of insurgents in Mon and '21 Para Commando' unit had laid an ambush.

"A vehicle was signalled to stop but it tried to speed away. Suspecting the presence of insurgents in the vehicle, the security personnel opened fire, leading to the death of six of its eight occupants," Shah said.

Regretting the death of the civilians, he had said security forces fired in self-defence.

Eight others, including an army man, were killed in subsequent clashes between the force and villagers.

Several political parties have contested the government version that the vehicle was asked to stop.