Nagaland DGP Rupin Sharma urges public cooperation against sexual assault, announces surveillance expansion and regional anti-drug coordination efforts.
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KOHIMA — Sexual assault is primarily a social issue that cannot be prevented through policing alone, Director General of Police Rupin Sharma said on Friday, stressing that timely reporting by victims and their families is crucial to ensuring justice.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an event at Police Headquarters (PHQ) in Kohima, Sharma said that cases of sexual assault occurring within families or behind closed doors are difficult to prevent unless they are reported to the police.
He explained that while police can act on information regarding individuals with a history of sexual offences, crimes committed in private spaces often remain beyond the reach of preventive policing without public cooperation.
To improve the safety of women and children in public places, Sharma said that Nagaland Police plans to install facial recognition-enabled surveillance cameras and CCTV systems in major towns across the state.
He added that regular police patrolling would also continue to be strengthened.
The DGP urged victims and their family members to come forward and report incidents of sexual assault, observing that the increasing number of reported cases reflects growing public confidence in the police and law enforcement agencies rather than necessarily indicating a rise in such crimes.
“I personally feel that instances of harassment or sexual assault have always existed in society. What is encouraging now is that victims and their families are reposing their trust in the police and reporting these cases,” he claimed.
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Responding to another question on whether Nagaland was winning the battle against drug abuse, Sharma said the state was making progress but emphasised that the fight against drugs cannot be left to the police alone.
“It is a war for everyone to fight,” he said, calling on citizens to actively support anti-drug efforts.
Sharma disclosed that DGPs and anti-narcotics task force heads from all north-eastern states recently met to formulate a common strategy to combat drug trafficking across the region.
He said that the coordinated approach aims to strengthen intelligence sharing and law enforcement so that traffickers moving drugs through states such as Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Assam and beyond will find it increasingly difficult to evade the authorities.
According to Sharma, the strategy is expected to take concrete shape within the next 10 days and enhance the effectiveness of anti-narcotics operations across the region.