Kohima, Sep 5 (IANS) Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Friday said that the state has become peaceful and stable and is increasingly connected with the rest of India and the world.

Participating in a discussion during the ongoing state Assembly session, Rio said Nagaland today is vastly different from what it was several decades ago, reflecting significant changes in peace, connectivity and development. In fact, the security situation in the state of Nagaland over the last five years has been one of the most peaceful in the history of the state, since its inception in 1963, he noted.

Rio said that this is borne out by the fact that the number of incidents related to underground activities from 2004-2009 was over 257, resulting in over 120 casualties among cadres of underground groups and civilians, largely arising due to inter-factional clashes, in addition to six casualties from the security forces. In stark contrast, in the last preceding 5 years, from 2021-2026, the total number of incidents relating to armed groups has drastically reduced to only eight incidents, resulting in four casualties among cadres of the underground groups and civilians and one casualty from security forces, he stated.

The Chief Minister said that the comparative figures do not lie; it has been a long-drawn and arduous journey towards peace and progress from the dark days of violence and killings that marred Naga society not so long ago. He said that as regards the rate of cognizable crime, in the year 2024, it stood at 61.6 per lakh population, which was the second-lowest crime rate among the states and Union Territories after Dadra and Nagar Haveli, compared to the all-India crime rate of 418.8 per lakh population as per National crime record data.

The peaceful and conducive law and order situation in the State is further reinforced by the fact that crime against women in the state of Nagaland is lowest in the country at 5.1 per lakh population as against the National Crime Rate of crime against women at 64.6, the Chief Minister said.

–IANS

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