DIMAPUR, DEC 7 (MExN): If Police records are to be believed, the law and order situation in Dimapur is at its best. Not a single case of extortion has been entered into the registers of the crime branch this month. A Police source on condition of anonymity revealed that hardly any reports on extortion cases are forwarded by those who receive demand notes. “If people do not come and register their complaints, how can we go about arresting anybody?” he said.
Further, the rate of petty thefts has also scaled down. The ‘whole system’ in Nagaland is attributed as the core of the situation where people fail to approach the Police to address their grievances. “The people get the kind of Police they deserve,” the source said when asked to comment on the effectiveness of Nagaland Police. The people also have to change their attitude. A person driving a stolen car is looked up with respect, he said.
‘Certain constraints’ and ‘interferences’ have been dubbed as the reason why the law enforcers cannot execute their duties efficiently.
The selection process of Police personnel has also been questioned. Red tapism and nepotism are seen as the deterrents to proper selection procedures. Ironically, the Naga Students’ Federation is staging a phase wise agitation against the NPSC where one of the alleged reasons for the protest against the Government is the bias perpetrated by the NPSC in the selection process. Four DSP were recently selected after passing the civil service exams.
“The underground cadres operating in Nagaland are not more powerful than the Police. It’s just that they are given a free hand,” the source quoted someone else as saying.