Director General of Police (DGP) Rupin Sharma, IPS, launched e-Challan, an automated system for traffic fines, and e-Suraksha, a platform for filing and tracking complaints online, on 29th September, 2026, at the Rhododendron Hall, Officers' Mess, Police Complex, Chumoukedima. The DGP also presented the tenant and landlord app and the hotel occupancy app, which have been in use for about a year.
Speaking at the launch, DGP Sharma said the e-Challan system automates traffic enforcement across the state. Every fine imposed on a person or vehicle, and the violation behind it, will now be recorded in one place. The data will also help the department assess the performance of police units and officers on traffic duty.
Violators can pay on the spot or within 45 days, through the Parivahan portal, mobile apps or offline. The DGP urged motorists to pay digitally on the spot wherever possible. Paying later means approaching a police officer or a magistrate, and anyone who hires an advocate to compound the offence may spend more than the fine itself. He also said no paper challans will be issued, and that challans and receipts will be sent by SMS and can be downloaded online. Offenders can check payment status and download receipts at echalan.parivahan.nic.in. Members of the public can also raise a grievance through a redressal mechanism.
Sharma further said the system is linked to the mParivahan app and the Parivahan portal, so pending challans will also appear when an owner applies for a No Objection Certificate to sell or transfer a vehicle. A vehicle without valid third-party insurance cannot be sold or resold. He also asked owners to follow the advisory issued by the Dimapur Deputy Commissioner on proper vehicle registration. Unregistered vehicles are liable to fines and may be impounded.
On e-Suraksha, the DGP said it allows anyone to file a complaint with any police station or authority in Nagaland through the app or portal. The complaint is recorded as an electronic General Diary entry. Complainants can give their name and details or file anonymously. Anonymous complainants will not receive a response on the outcome, while those who identify themselves are entitled to a copy of the police report once the inquiry or investigation is over.
The service is meant to work from anywhere, he said. A person in another state who knows of a crime taking place in Nagaland can report it through the system, and the police will act on it.
Filing requires an OTP sent to the complainant, a step meant to keep out frivolous complaints. Documents, photographs, videos and audio files can be uploaded. Crime categories are kept simple, and if the complainant does not pick one, the Officer-in-Charge will assign it. Each complaint gets an acknowledgement number, which can be used on the portal to check the status, the officer assigned and the final report.
Every complaint is visible up the supervisory chain, from the Officer-in-Charge and the SDPO or ACP to the SP, DIG, IG, ADGs and the DGP. The Officer-in-Charge can mark a complaint to an investigating officer or forward it electronically to another station or district.
A preliminary inquiry under the new criminal laws must be completed within seven days, so complainants can expect a response around the seventh or eighth day. Delays will be flagged to supervisory officers. If a complainant or victim is not satisfied with the quality of an inquiry or its report, the matter can be taken to the next supervisory level within the system.
The DGP clarified that not every report to a police station is an FIR, and the department prefers to call such reports complaints. The Officer-in-Charge decides whether a complaint discloses a cognizable offence. In a case like murder, an FIR follows straight away. In other cases, an FIR is registered if a preliminary inquiry shows a cognizable offence.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Sandeep Tamagade, IPS, said that once a registered complaint discloses a cognizable offence, the Officer-in-Charge has no power to refuse an FIR, a position settled by the Supreme Court in several cases. He said people in the state often confuse a complaint with an FIR, and that only complaints reflecting a cognizable offence are converted into FIRs. The complainant must sign the FIR in person, the only point in the process where a physical signature is needed.
The ADGP said members of the public may not always know the difference between a criminal wrong and a civil wrong, or between cognizable, bailable and non-bailable offences, and that it is the police's job to work this out. In non-cognizable matters, a complainant can approach a magistrate, and an FIR can still be registered on the magistrate's direction. He added that the new criminal laws make it mandatory for the Officer-in-Charge to inform the complainant of the outcome, including whether a case was registered and whether a charge sheet or closure report has gone to court.
Both officers described the system as a step towards transparency and accountability at police station level, addressing long-standing complaints that grievances went unregistered or that complainants were never told what became of them.
On the tenant and landlord app and the hotel occupancy app, DGP Sharma said both have been in use for about a year, are OTP based and are simple to use. He urged all landlords and tenants in Nagaland to register on the tenant app.
The two apps help prevent crime and let the police trace offenders when required, he said. If tenants and landlords are registered in full, potential criminals will have nowhere to hide. Registering hotel guests will likewise make it difficult for visitors from other parts of the country, whether they come to commit crimes or are victims of crime, to stay anonymously without police checks.
The DGP appealed to the public to use all four services as much as possible, saying it would help Nagaland Police work more systematically and keep the system transparent.
(Takumpula Longkumer, IA Chumoukedima)
