Naga Tribal Union Chumoukedima Town (NTUCT) has petitioned chief secretary Temjen Toy seeking cancellation of backdoor appointments in the Police department.
In a representation to the chief secretary and signed by its president Lhousiti Khro and vice-president Akum Imchen, the union alleged gross manipulation in appointments to various ranks in the police department recently and reiterated its demand for cancellation of the appointments and call fresh and open recruitment.
The representation mentioned that deputy chief minister Y Patton had stated during the fifth session of 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly that about 1,200 constable were appointed out of 1,698 accumulated post vacancies, leaving 400 posts vacant to be filled.
And as per the RTI reply provided by IGP (Hqrs) and PIO Tokiumong, the police constables appointed from March 2018 to January 2020 district-wise indicated 1,140 appointments (which included 206 selected and appointed through open recruitments held on November 15, 16 and 18, 2019) where as the exact head count as per the detail names list there were only 930, thus leaving a mysterious non-existing figure of 210 missing.
NTUCT pointed out that while the RTI reply had stated that altogether 272 posts were filled up through written and oral interviews in various ranks, reply to RTI question no. 2 stated that only 208 candidates were selected through open recruitments held on November 15, 16 and 18, 2019.
But the advertisement (PHQ (B-1) 1/recruitment, constables/2019, dated, Kohima, August 2019) was for 206 posts, and not 208. Whereas the remaining 66 posts out of 277 belonged to higher ranks presumably, the union said the detail particulars of the posts in question were not disclosed to the public.
The detail process of selection for 1,200 as per RTI report question no. 2, fresh police recruits for training at Chumoukedima town at PTS and NAPTC respectively from February 14 making a difference of 1200-930=270. This meant that the total vacancies, as declared by Patton on the floor of the House on February 15, was 1,698, leaving 498 vacancies, and not as declared, the representation noted.
While as per the final results (NPORR 2019) for the post of constables the total number was only 205 and not as reported, the remaining 67 posts out of 272 categorized for higher ranks presumably had neither record of any advertisement nor disclosed to the public, the union added
Further, on proper and careful scrutiny, the list of 205 as claimed to have included in the RTI report was astonishingly not found, making the RTI name list of 930 as entirely bogus, the representation claimed.
According to NTUCT, the actual number of constables appointed as per RTI report was 930, while the posts actually advertised was 206 and not 272. Further, there were 999 bogus/backdoor appointments, 205 open recruitments as per final result, 1,204 total appointments and 494 total vacant posts.
The union regretted that despite exposing the modus operandi adopted in the police department for appointing hundreds every year, its gesture was not reciprocated properly.
NTUCT declared that it was fully prepared to go to any extent to nail the culprits and deliver justice on behalf of the Naga public. But in order to avoid any breakdown of law and order, it was raising the issue before the chief secretary seeking his timely intervention, the statement added.