“Objection” to Martyrs Park site reopens Oting killing wounds in Nagaland

Guwahati

The alleged objection by the Assam Rifles to a site identified for a Martyrs Park in Nagaland’s Mon has reopened old wounds associated with the Oting killings in December 2021.

The Konyak Union, the apex body of the Konyak tribe that dominates Mon district, said that the Home Department approved a site adjacent to an Assam Rifles camp for the construction of the memorial a few days after the killing of 13 community members by a special Army unit in an alleged botched encounter.

The union said the permission was granted in January 2022 for a memorial for the 13 victims of Oting, a village near Nagaland’s border with Assam, along with a fourteenth victim who was killed after Assam Rifles opened fire to repel protestors in Mon town the following day.

The headquarters of Mon district, the town is more than 60 km from Oting.

“During the volatile situation, we sought a permit through the district administration for the construction of the Martyrs Park at a site adjacent to the Assam Rifles camp as a mark of respect for the innocent lives lost and to remind the security agencies to shun such operations,” Konyak Union general secretary Wango Konyak said.

Union president K. Yamao Konyak stated that the 42 Assam Rifles stationed at Mon objected to the construction of the park, claiming that the allotted site falls under land leased to it.

“However, the district administration has officially stated that the lease deed of the Assam Rifles land in Mon town is not a registered one and does not hold any legal validity, ” he said.

The union insisted that the community needs the park as a reminder of the December 2021 incident for future generations.

The Konyak Union said that an appeal to the district authority on January 23 to resolve the matter did not yield any result. A reminder to the Commissioner of Nagaland on February 10 has also gone unheard, it said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday (March 31, 2026), the organisation said it would go ahead with the construction of the park at the chosen site if the Neiphiu Rio-led Nagaland government fails to expedite the process soon.

“The union will not be held responsible if any untoward incident occurs while initiating the action (construction at the site),” it said.

An official response from the Assam Rifles is awaited.