Nagaland Police to launch single-window portal for online complaints within 12 days

The Nagaland Police will launch a single-window online complaint portal within the next 10-12 days, allowing residents to file grievances, track their status and access police inquiry reports, Director General of Police Rupin Sharma said on Tuesday, August 25.

Addressing a state-level convergence meeting on violence against women and children in Kohima, Sharma said the proposed system would allow people to submit complaints to the police irrespective of whether the matter is ultimately found to be criminal or civil in nature.

Under the system, every complaint will be assigned by the officer-in-charge of the concerned police station to an investigating officer for preliminary inquiry. The officer will then determine whether the complaint involves a cognisable offence, a non-cognisable offence or a purely civil dispute.

If a cognisable offence is established, the police station will be required to register an FIR. In non-cognisable cases, complainants may be advised to approach a magistrate, while purely civil matters will remain outside the police's jurisdiction.

Sharma said complainants would be able to electronically track the progress of their complaints and, as provided under the new criminal laws, download a copy of the police inquiry report.

Senior police officers, from the police station level to the DGP, will also be able to monitor the status of complaints through the system.

The DGP said the portal could be particularly useful in cases involving domestic violence, child abuse, stalking and harassment, as repeated complaints could help police identify patterns and intervene before such incidents escalate.

“Your complaints will not go unanswered,” Sharma said, adding that complainants would be able to know whether an FIR had been registered and, if not, the reason for the decision.

Sharma also acknowledged gaps between existing government mechanisms and their implementation on the ground, saying several agencies have systems in place but lack adequate capacity to respond effectively.

He urged victims and the public to report incidents, stressing that under-reporting makes it difficult for authorities to assess the scale of the problem and allocate resources such as manpower, safe homes, vehicles and helplines.

The DGP clarified that police cannot intervene in purely civil disputes but said the presence of a criminal element provides grounds for police intervention.

He also cautioned NGOs, village councils, customary institutions and other civil society groups against taking the law into their own hands, particularly in cognisable offences such as rape and stalking.

Meanwhile, Social Welfare Department Director Tosheli Zhimomi said one-stop centres across Nagaland handled 311 cases of gender-based violence during the last financial year, while the Women Helpline received 144 cases.

The cases included domestic violence, cybercrime, sexual assault, missing cases and other situations involving women in distress.

Under Mission Vatsalya, Child Welfare Committees received 640 cases involving children in need of care and protection during 2025-26, while Juvenile Justice Boards received 56 cases involving children in conflict with the law. There were 639 children in child care institutions, Zhimomi said.

The Child Helpline 1098 received 2,632 cases between September 1, 2023 and March 25, 2026, she added.

As part of initiatives under Mission Shakti and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, the Social Welfare Department plans to install sanitary napkin vending machines and grievance-redressal ‘SHE’ boxes in all registered schools in Nagaland in coordination with the state police.

Additional Secretary to the state government Olemjungla Aier said Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya could not work in isolation and called for greater participation from the police, district legal services authorities and NGOs.

The state-level convergence meeting was organised by Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti under the Department of Social Welfare in collaboration with the Nagaland Police and Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA). The meeting brought together officials and frontline workers from all 17 districts to strengthen coordination and develop an integrated response to violence against women and children.