Dimapur:
Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister, Y Patton recently said that the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) inquiry into the Oting massacre in Mon district is almost complete, except some additional documentation.
Assuring that soon justice will prevail, Patton, who also holds the Home portfolio, said the situation in the state was largely peaceful except for the Oting incident in which 14 innocent villagers were gunned down in a botched ambush by security forces on December 4, 2021. Another person had died in Oting in the subsequent violence that followed the unfortunate incident.
The Nagaland government constituted the SIT on December 5, 2021, to look into the killings and it was given a month to complete it. Later, the team, however, sought more time to complete the investigation.
Speaking at a programme to flag off the newly purchased vehicles for Superintendents of Police (SPs) at the police headquarters in Kohima, Patton added that 11 new Mahindra Scorpios will be assigned to the state’s SPs and that procurement is underway for the remaining districts.
Stating that mobility and timely response to any situation are some of the key functions of the police department, Patton hoped that with better vehicles, the SPs would be able to lead from the front with alacrity and respond to any situation promptly.
He also lauded the Nagaland police for a recent successful operation when the personnel seized 48 kg of smuggled gold worth Rs 23 crore and also acknowledged the various anti-narcotics operations carried by the state police.
Patton also stated that the police force will be more rigorous at preventing extortions and take stringent action against anti-social elements. He assured that full support from the state government will be given to the police department to ensure law and order prevails in the state.
Patton lauded the performance of the Nagaland Indian Reserve Battalion (NIRB) at the recently concluded Punjab elections. Currently NIRB personnel are deployed in Manipur elections.