Nagaland Police Forms SIT to Investigate Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Senior IAS Officer Reny Wilfred

KOHIMA: The Nagaland Police have set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into allegations of sexual harassment leveled against senior IAS officer Reny Wilfred, who is currently serving as Joint Secretary at the Investment and Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN).

The accusations were brought forward by some of the agency’s employees.

Wilfred, however, has dismissed the case as a politically motivated move aimed at targeting him and forcing him out of the state.

According to an official statement issued by the Nagaland Police, the case first came to light on March 17 when the chairperson of the Nagaland State Commission for Women (NSCW), Ngineig Konyak, wrote to Director General of Police Rupin Sharma.

In her letter, Konyak informed the DGP that she had received verbal communication regarding the allegations from Abu Metha, the chairman of IDAN.

Metha also serves as an advisor to the Nagaland Chief Minister and holds the position of Secretary General of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), which leads the state’s coalition government along with the BJP.

The police confirmed that the NSCW had already recorded the statements of the women making the accusations, which were then forwarded to the DGP for further action.

Along with these testimonies, the commission also submitted a letter from Abu Metha, which included the original written complaint by IDAN employees alleging sexual harassment.

A preliminary inquiry was launched, and the police said the investigation unearthed enough material to establish a cognizable offence.

Based on this, a formal FIR was registered on April 2. A five-member SIT, headed by a senior IPS officer, has since been formed to conduct a thorough probe into the matter.

Speaking to the media in Kohima, Wilfred claimed that the entire case had been manipulated to malign his reputation and drive him out of Nagaland.

“For sexual harassment cases, there is a legally mandated process. Even if the Nagaland State Commission for Women received a complaint, it should have been sent to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), which is set up both within IDAN and the state secretariat.

Only after the ICC’s evaluation should the matter have gone to the police,” he argued.

“Here, the proper channels have been bypassed in a rush to file a case and implicate me. If the goal is to arrest me, I am here in Nagaland — I am not running. But I deserve the opportunity to defend myself and prove the truth,” Wilfred added.

This is not the first time Wilfred has faced such allegations. In 2021, while serving as District Collector in Noklak district, he was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls.

An SIT investigated that case and eventually filed a charge sheet against him. The matter is currently under trial in a court in the Tuensang district.

Wilfred has challenged the validity of the earlier charges as well, alleging that the case was fabricated after he attempted to expose a child trafficking network in the area.

“When I raised concerns about trafficking and tried to prevent it, this is what I got in return — a false case,” he stated. He also sought to have that trial shifted to another district, claiming safety concerns and doubts over receiving a fair trial locally.

As the investigation into the latest allegations unfolds, the SIT is expected to record additional statements and gather more evidence in the coming days.