Robert N. Solo T. Khel Kohima Village The tragedy of Nagaland state is that the moment somebody raises questions about corruption in the system, he or she is made incompetent, irrelevant or insignificant. Such a person is either kicked out or transferred. The removal of Director General of Police, Rupin Sharma for this very reason is seeing an unprecedented response from the Naga public. One has never heard of Naga people coming together to retain one officer and that too, a non-Naga, which is a big surprise. Youngsters from a poor background saw a hope of transparency in the police system due to the reforms initiated by Mr Sharma. Comments on social media indicate that his only mistake was that he was too honest to be DGP of Nagaland; that he was a misfit in the department as he did not compromise with wrongdoing. Instead of succumbing to the pressure of ministers, he stood his ground against backdoor appointments, ensuring that only the smartest, fittest and most deserving candidates got jobs through proper channels Sharma ensured that the quality of rations and supplies were improved in among the jawans and timely supplies ensured. He set up a Committee to resolve loan sharking in the police which the biggest problem for the lower ranks whose salaries were being deducted through wrong means. Jawans saw timely payment of their travel and dearness allowance which was never received before, while higher-ups were not allowed to cheat or manipulate them. He personally ensured obtaining from MHA approvals for setting up Subsidiary Police Canteens in 19 units of Nagaland Police. Such canteens were a goldmine for certain exploitative groups who were sucking the blood of the jawans with the help of the higher-ups. RTI activists as also a group of police personnel's wives approached me to lead a protest, saying they are fighting for the future of their children. A woman pointed to a baby in her arms and said, "I want to fight for this baby, and if you lead the protest we all will come to the road with our children to request the retention of Sharma." After listening to the desperate personnel I came to know that if Sharma goes, some deserving personnel will never be promoted. During the past 18 years, such promotions never took place amongst the lower ranks because of the back door appointments to the Assistant Sub Inspector and Sub Inspector posts. No wonder today desperate job seekers and frustrated youth are coming out in support of Sharma. They believe that if the Home Department is cleared of corruption then it would have a ripple effect on government offices. The government response is to appoint an inexperienced officer who is seven years junior to Sharma. The government should know that people are ready to come out on the streets because their hopes are shattered. The departure of incorruptible officers like Sharma would be a tragedy to the Naga's future.
