KOHIMA, Mar 1: Over 150 Nagaland Police personnel staged a peaceful rally outside the Police Headquarters in Kohima on February 28, protesting the Gauhati High Court’s order quashing their appointments. The protestors, who represent various police units in Nagaland, gathered between 10 am and 11 am, holding placards that read messages like ‘We want justice’ and ‘We are indigenous Nagas.’ The rally was approved by the district administration.
The protestors, mostly constables appointed between January 2018 and October 2019, are affected by the court’s September 2024 ruling that annulled the appointments of 935 police constables. The court decision came after a petition was filed by unemployed Naga youth in 2022, arguing that the appointments were made without any official recruitment advertisement.
The affected personnel, many of whom were appointed during the 2018-2020 period, gathered to voice their grievances, claiming to be victims of a corrupt recruitment system. After the rally, the protestors held a closed-door meeting with Director General of Police (DGP) Rupin Sharma, where they submitted a memorandum outlining their concerns.
The Gauhati High Court’s order instructed the Nagaland government to conduct fresh recruitments by issuing proper advertisements in widely circulated newspapers within the state. The court also emphasized that the recruitment process should be completed as soon as possible, preferably within six months from the date of the judgment.
A total of 1,138 police personnel, primarily from the state’s Home Department, were adversely affected by the court’s order, nullifying their recruitments. The protest reflects the growing dissatisfaction among the affected personnel and their demand for justice and a transparent recruitment process.
