Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton on Friday held a meeting with senior police officers and unit commanders in presence of DGP Rupin Sharma and Additional DGPs R P Kikon and Sandeep Tamgadge at police headquarters in Kohima discussion law and order situation in the state.
Patton, who holds charge of the Home Department, asked the state police chief to reduce the number of personnel posted as bodyguards and also to initiate stern action against personnel found under the influence of intoxicants.
Pointing out that almost 3,000 personnel of Nagaland Police are attached either as bodyguards or for non-police duties, he stressed on the urgent requirement to reduce such deployments and attachments so that more manpower is available for policing and law and order works.
Maintaining that police personnel are the eyes and ears of the department and the guardian of the citizens in terms of safety and security, he said people have high expectations from the force.
However, the DyCM said many police personnel are found under the influence of alcohol or drug abuse and said such misconduct or indiscipline behaviour of the personnel should be checked sternly and necessary punitive action be taken.
Appreciating the police department for the security measures during the just concluded state Assembly elections, he said some stray incidents of poll related violence were witnessed but the situation in the state was peaceful.
After the unfortunate December 2021 incident at Oting in Mon district, the Committee set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs had lifted AFSPA from 15 police station jurisdictions of Nagaland and the primary role of maintaining law and order and tackling of insurgents has fallen on the shoulders of the police, he said.
Maintaining that Nagaland Police has grown from 1,000 strong force in 1980s to about 26,000 in 2023, he said there is an urgent need to improve the efficiency of the department, which can be done by re-organization and restructuring the police force so that better and optimal utilization of manpower and resources can be undertaken.
The quality and thoroughness of investigation and investigation work needs an immediate uplift, he said.
He also asked for proper proposals with appropriate justification for budgetary allocations to deal with new-age crimes like cybercrimes, cyber frauds, economic offences and breaches of cyber security.
Speaking in the meeting DGP Rupin Sharma said that the state police has prioritised the 'War On Drugs' as number one priority.
"We realized the need for a multi-pronged approach to combat this menace and decided that we need to educate our police personnel too about the ill-effects of the menace and the seriousness of the problem," he said.
The DGP appealed to his personnel addicted to liquor or drugs to voluntarily come forward so that they would be rehabilitated, if not they would face suspension or termination from service if caught by the department.
Nagaland Police would perhaps be the first police force in the country to administer this anti-Narcotics pledge to all its personnel, he said.
The DGP asserted that Nagaland Police would leave no stone unturned towards maintaining a better, peaceful and fear-free environment in the state which would help in ushering a new era of development and progress in the state.
(With PTI input)
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