Dimapur, September 7 (MExN): The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India has issued directives to the state governments of Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, NCT of Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Utter Pradesh against discrimination of people from the North East Region.
The ministry’s directives include ‘zero tolerance’ against perpetrator of crime on NE people; personal supervision by police commissioners and superintendents in cases as well as support facilities such as tool free help lines, among others, the Nagaland Governor’s office informed today.
The directives state ‘Zero Tolerance Policy’ for crime against the weaker sections in general and those from North Eastern States in particular; higher level of response to complaints from people of North Eastern States particularly women and personal supervision by DCPs/SPs over outreach programmes/contact with North Eastern States community leaders for holding meetings on regular quarterly basis for reporting to appropriate authority.
The directives also setting up toll free access helpline to the police and manned by officers/operators with knowledge of communicable language. The government also directed the State to invoke Section 4 of the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, against police officers for negligence of follow up actions on complaints of cognizable offences against the people of North Eastern States.
The Ministry of Home Affairs further directed the States for intimation of actions initiated and for submission of periodic review reports on regular basis. The acknowledgment for the receipt of the directive was also required from the States in concern.
The MHA had on earlier instances issued ‘advisories’ on discrimination and racial profiling, faced by Indian citizens from North Eastern States, in some parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Nagaland Nikhil Kumar has expressed pain ‘to see these very unfortunate happenings’ and has said to grant interviews and hear first hand the affected members from the State of Nagaland. Those interested may contact Dominic, joint director of the IPR and PRO, Raj Bhavan, at the contact number 09436005483.
The governor’s office said the North East Students’ Organization (NESO) had submitted a memorandum to Governor Nikhil Kumar, in June appealing to assist the NESO’s memorandum to the Prime Minister of India in October 2011. The governor also met the Naga Students’ Union of Delhi on June 29, 2012.
Governor Kumar has taken up with the Union government the issue of discrimination and racial profiling faced by the people from the North-Eastern States staying in the other parts of the country. “It was unfortunate that an exodus of the people from North Eastern States occurred between the 15th and the 20th of August 2012, despite the pre-emptive efforts of the Government of India. While the State government also made all efforts to control the situation, the Governor of Nagaland was pained to see these very unfortunate happenings,” the governor’s office said.
