KOHIMA, June 18 (NEPS): After March 5 incident in Dimapur, the condition of the state police has been thoroughly exposed. One of the startling revelations soon after the unfortunate incident was the state police forces positioned in Dimapur on the fateful day was ill-equipped. They were without modern riot control weaponries to control the highly charged agitating crowd.
Soon after the incident, then Deputy Commissioner Dimapur, the Superintendent of Police Dimapur and senior Jail Superintendent of the Dimapur Central Jail were placed under suspension, while the Government was admitting its total breakdown of law and order on the fateful day, the March 5, 2015 at Dimapur.
The sources told NEPS that there were 11 Companies of Nagaland Armed Police/IR including 3 from the CRPF deployed on March 5 to control the surging and highly charged crowd. But things had gradually come to open that they were ill-equipped for face such agitations.
Confirming this to NEPS, G Akheto Sema, ADGP, IPS, said the state police force did not have riot control equipment and further disclosed that the Government had already submitted a proposal to the Government of India to provide all the necessary modern riot control equipment to the state. “We are hoping that we will get riot control equipment soon,” he said.
It is Rs 19 crore proposal for the supply of “Riot control equipment” to the Nagaland police and it has already been submitted to the Government of India, he disclosed. “We are waiting from the Ministry.”
Some of the requirements placed are tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, water cannons, armored fighting vehicles, aerial surveillance, riot helmets, face visors, body armor (vests, neck protectors, knee pads, etc.), and riot shields, etc.
However, some police officers denied that they did not have riot control equipment. They said they had polycarbonate shields, polyhelmets, and even water cannons were given in 2010. But they were not sufficient to face any future riots or agitations, they explained.