Rising People’s Party (RPP) has expressed outrage and “deep dismay” over what it described as “shocking inaction and deliberate lethargy” displayed by PDA government and the state law enforcement agencies with the “Reny Wilfred sexual assault cases.”
In a press release, RPP described it as “an unpardonable travesty of justice” that a senior IAS officer, accused of heinous crimes-including POCSO violations- still continues to roam free, mock the judiciary, and even hold press conferences to deflect blame, while his victims suffered in silence.
RPP said that “this shocking case” laid bare the “ugly reality” of two contrasting systems of justice in Nagaland – one for common citizens and another for well-connected bureaucrats.
RPP pointed out that while ordinary Nagas faced the full might of the law for minor infractions, a high-ranking officer like Reny Wilfred booked with multiple offences- earlier under POCSO in 2021 and now with an FIR filed with multiple women accusing him of workplace sexual harassment – enjoyed “extraordinary immunity” despite multiple serious allegations.
RPP alleged that instead of suspension, arrest, or disciplinary action, Wilfred was being shielded, transferred, and even allowed to publicly slander the system- a privilege no common criminal booked under POCSO would ever get.
The party also termed as “unbecoming and blatant” Wilfred’s press conferences outside his official assignment and unrelated to his department, including sharing his personal matter. “This has exposed the rotten core of our governance system where power protects its own,” RPP said.
Pointing out that POCSO Act mandates a 1-year trial deadline, RPP said even after three years, Wilfred remained unpunished, unfazed, and unaccountable. “This is not just a failure of justice- it is state-sponsored impunity,” RPP added.
It accused the PDA government of making a mockery of the rule of law and sending “a chilling message” to survivors of sexual violence across the state – that justice was only for the powerless, and protection was the privilege of the powerful.
In the light of the above, RPP has demanded immediate arrest and suspension of Reny Wilfred pending trial and fast-tracking of the proceedings to ensure justice for the minor survivors and harassed women employees.
It maintained that the complicity in the case has “already convicted” the PDA government in the court of public opinion. RPP said people of Nagaland would not tolerate a regime that protected predators and punished the victims. “It’s time for the government of the day to wake up and act,” RPP said, adding that dignity, security, and rights of women must never be compromised.