The Association of Kohima Municipal Wards Council has sought Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s urgent intervention to fix forensic delays and revive forensic capacity in Nagaland.
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DIMAPUR — Citing repeated delays in crime scene investigation and a “systemic collapse” of forensic infrastructure in Nagaland, the Association of Kohima Municipal Wards Council (AKMWC) has appealed to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio for immediate, time-bound intervention to make forensic science fully functional in the state.
In a statement dated January 22, the AKMWC, representing Kohima’s 19 wards and 44 colonies, reiterated that forensic capacity in Nagaland remains “indefensibly inadequate” despite the availability of infrastructure, sanctioned posts and qualified local professionals.
The association recalled that it had formally written to the home commissioner on October 29, 2025, with copies to the chief secretary and the director general of police, flagging critical gaps in forensic response. The representation, it added, was also carried in local dailies in the interest of public accountability.
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Highlighting recent cases, the AKMWC pointed to the death of a police constable from a gunshot injury at Lerie helipad on September 24, 2025, where forensic personnel reportedly reached the scene only late in the afternoon, hours after the body was discovered.
In another case, the brutal murder of a young woman at Old Ministers’ Hill Colony on October 25, 2025, was reported to police around 7 am, but forensic experts had to be mobilised from Dimapur and arrived only after 2 pm.
“These were serious crimes in the state capital itself, not in remote or inaccessible locations,” the association said, adding that prolonged exposure of crime scenes compromised evidence, undermined investigations and subjected families to avoidable trauma.
According to the AKMWC, Kohima has no functional forensic unit, while the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) at Dimapur continues to suffer from chronic staff shortages.
Despite the inauguration of an “upgraded” FSL in September 2018 and claims of creating nine scientific posts, the association alleged that not a single regular scientific officer or scientific assistant has been recruited till date.
Nearly eight years on, it sated, the laboratory survives on deputed personnel, with key forensic divisions either crippled or non-functional, and expensive equipment lying idle for want of trained operators.
The situation persists, the statement added, even as qualified Naga forensic professionals—from diploma holders to PhDs—are compelled to work outside the state or become overage.
It asserted that the issue has acquired statutory urgency with the enforcement of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which mandates forensic involvement in serious offences punishable with seven years or more.
Nagaland, it warned, lacks the manpower and institutional capacity to comply, forcing continued dependence on sending exhibits to other states, leading to delays and potential evidence degradation.
Raising concerns over crime detection, the association cited the INR 97 lakh heist at the Kohima Municipal Council office in June 2025, which later unravelled into a series of thefts exceeding INR 1.5 crore only after custodial confessions.
It questioned how many cases went unlinked or undetected due to the absence of forensic linkage, digital correlation and financial trail analysis.
Referring to a January 4, 2026 report by Aakashvani News on Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement of a INR 30,000 crore nationwide forensic network by 2029, the AKMWC stated that Nagaland “cannot wait until 2029” to build basic forensic capacity.
The AKMWC urged the chief minister to personally intervene and direct immediate operationalisation of the Dimapur FSL through expedited recruitment, establish or revive a functional forensic laboratory in Kohima with dedicated scientific staff, institutionalise district-level forensic response, and fix accountability timelines for the Home Department to ensure compliance with statutory requirements.