Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, AUGUST 13
THERE was a time when the recovery of an unidentified body would ring alarm bells in every nook and corner of Nagaland and even capture headlines in the local dailies.
But today, the reaction to such incidents has drastically changed. The indifference is tangible, more so with the passage of time and the increasing frequency of reports of such recoveries, almost every week. Not surprisingly this dark development is being reflected in unflattering statistics associated with the state.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2012 Report, out of the total 37,838 “unidentified” bodies recovered across the country, Nagaland alone registered 49 such cases last year.
This is next to Meghalaya among the northeastern states, which recorded as many as 325 cases.
Going by the numbers, the immediate neighboring state Assam , with a burgeoning population of over 3 crore, registered a minimal 11 cases.
Arunachal Pradesh with three cases recorded the lowest number among all the states.
Manipur and Sikkim recorded 44 and 22 cases respectively while Mizoram and Tripura were not listed in the NCRB 2012 Report.
Maharashtra with a maximum 5906 cases recorded the highest among all the states in India, followed by Tamil Nadu - 5319, Uttar Pradesh - 3996, West Bengal - 3681, etc… Among the union territories, Delhi alone recorded 3359 registered cases.
According to NCRB, it was reported that almost nine unidentified bodies largely of drug addicts and beggars are recovered from the streets of Delhi everyday.
SP Dimapur, VZ Angami told Eastern Mirror that it has become almost a weekly routine for the police personnel to undergo such cases. Among the districts in the state, Dimapur registered the maximum number of such cases in 2012.
The SP said the unidentified bodies were mostly non locals, beggars and drug addicts.
He also attributed that the increase in this kind of cases, is due to the influx of people.
A majority of the unidentified bodies are of people who do not have a family or relatives in the city.
Eight months into the year and 14 cases of unidentified bodies have already been registered in Dimapur and three in Kohima.
The list of unidentified bodies, not only includes those of non locals, beggars and drug addicts, but also two newborn babies who were dumped on the roadside in the vicinity of Medziphema.
