• Says deceased involved in highway robbery & assault case
• Police personnel under suspension for impartial investigation
Dimapur, July 29 (MExN): Days after a man reportedly succumbed to injuries incurred during a ‘hot pursuit’ by police personnel, the Dimapur Police stated today that the deceased was a suspect in a recent highway incident, which included robbery and alleged sexual assault of a female victim.
A case has been registered regarding the ‘incident involving the hot pursuit’ on July 25 at Niuland Police Station (PS), according to a statement issued by the Dimapur Police PRO.
To ensure a fair and impartial investigation, the police personnel involved in the incident have been placed under suspension, it added.
Chronology of events
Providing a detailed account leading up to the incident, the Dimapur Police said that on July 25, a written FIR (First Information Report) complaint was received at Women PS, Dimapur regarding the incident.
The complaint stated that on the night of July 22, a group of four to five unknown miscreants in a white Scorpio vehicle “abducted, assaulted, and robbed two persons.”
The duo was reportedly waylaid on the four-lane highway under Showuba Village while returning home in a vehicle after dropping off a relative.
As one of the victims was a woman, a case was registered at Women PS Dimapur under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new criminal law effective from July 1, the police said.
In light of new findings during the investigation, additional sections of BNS have been requested from the court, the police added.
During the investigation, it was revealed that after overpowering the victims, the assailants blindfolded them and forcefully took them to an unknown location, as per the police account.
The victims were not only robbed of their cash and belongings but also had money from their bank accounts transferred to another account via Gpay transactions, it maintained.
Preliminary investigation further revealed that the female victim was allegedly assaulted “physically and sexually,” it added.
The Dimapur Police also stated that while committing their crime, the assailants “disrobed the victims and took photographs and videographs…with the intention to blackmail them into not reporting the matter to the police.”
Consequently, based on the investigation and the digital footprints recovered, the police conducted a covert operation to nab the suspects and on the night of July 25, a team was dispatched to Tokugha village under Niuland district, where one of the suspected prime accused was located.
Pursuit and aftermath
During the operation, as the team was approaching the village, the suspected prime accused identified as one Ngukavi Yeptho, was seen fleeing on a motorbike, resulting in a hot pursuit, the police claimed. The officers, operating undercover in a private vehicle, identified themselves as police and repeatedly warned the suspect to stop, but he did not heed their warnings, it said.
During the chase, the bike skidded, causing Yeptho to lose his balance and fall on the road. The police vehicle, unable to stop instantly, ran slightly over the bike and the rider before crashing into a drainage, it added.
The Dimapur Police reported that immediately after the incident, the injured suspect was attended to and rushed to Referral Hospital (CHISR), where he succumbed to his injuries.
All legal formalities were observed, and the body was sent to District Hospital Dimapur for a post-mortem examination, it added.
In connection with the incident involving the hot pursuit, a case has been registered at Niuland PS under the relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act, and the police personnel involved placed under suspension to enable impartial inquiry, it added.
