Nagaland police launch digital initiatives

DIMAPUR, SEP 29 (NPN): Nagaland police formally launched two digital initiatives, e-Challan and e-Suraksha, at the police complex in Chümoukedima on Tuesday, while also highlighting two existing digital platforms that have been operational for about a year.
Announcing the initiatives after a unit commanders’ meeting, the DGP Rupin Sharma urged the public to make full use of the platforms to improve transparency, accountability and efficiency in policing.
The e-Challan system, developed by the National Informatics Centre and integrated with the central Parivahan portal, is an automated digital traffic enforcement tool. Traffic violators would no longer be required to pay cash. The system is linked to QR codes and digital payment gateways including PhonePe, Google Pay and BHIM; integration of point-of-sale machines is still under way.
All officers authorised to impose or compound offences under the Motor Vehicles Act have been onboarded across the state. The system records which officer imposed a fine, on which date, against which person or vehicle, and for what violation, enabling the department to track both enforcement and officer performance.
Fines unpaid on the spot can be settled within 45 days, though the police encourage immediate digital payment.
Physical challans would no longer be issued; receipts would be sent by SMS or made available for electronic download. Pending challans appear when a vehicle is next checked and are linked to the mParivahan and Parivahan apps. Unpaid violations may also hinder vehicle transfer or sale. Sharma stressed the need for proper registration and insurance compliance.
The second initiative, e-Suraksha, allows anyone-whether inside or outside Nagaland- to file a complaint electronically with any police station in the state.
Complainants may register with their identity or anonymously; in the latter case the police cannot communicate the outcome.
Identified complainants would receive a report once the inquiry or investigation is complete. Complaints are visible to the officer-in-charge and all supervisory ranks up to the DGP.
Unresolved or poorly handled complaints can be escalated through the hierarchy. Under the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, a cognizable offence must result in an FIR; where an FIR is not registered the complainant must be told why. Any required preliminary inquiry must be completed within seven days, with delays flagged to senior officers. The system is OTP-based and allows the upload of documents, photographs, videos and audio.
Each complaint generates an acknowledgement number for tracking. Sharma said the platform was intended to reduce the need for people to visit police stations simply to lodge a complaint; any insistence that a person appear in person could be reported to senior officers.
ADGP Sandeep Tamgadge said e-Suraksha would bring transparency to whether a complaint was registered, the reasons if it was not, and the progress of any inquiry. Not every complaint automatically becomes an FIR; only those disclosing a prima facie cognizable offence must do so. The new criminal laws empower officers-in-charge to conduct preliminary inquiries where necessary.
Sharma also drew attention to the tenant-and-landlord app and the hotel occupancy app, both OTP-based and operational for about a year. He urged landlords and tenants across the state to use the former, saying proper registration would help police locate criminals when required. The hotel app is intended to register visitors and thereby help identify those involved in or affected by crime. Registration of tenants and hotel guests, he said, would help deny anonymity and territory to criminals. Links to all four platforms have been uploaded on the Nagaland police website for public access.