Northeast Community Meets Delhi Police Commissioner

THE Northeast community had an interaction with Delhi Police Commissioner Shri Satish Golcha at the Delhi Police Headquarters, Jai Singh Road, on Friday evening, 19 September 2025. On the occasion, the members also felicitated the CP with traditional shawls, mementos, and other tokens of appreciation.

Shri Satish Golcha, a senior IPS officer of the 1992 batch from the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram & Union Territories) cadre, assumed office as the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, on 21 August 2025.

The gathering included community leaders, lawyers, social workers, entrepreneurs, students, and others. They shared their experiences and hardships, and also put forward suggestions. The CP listened attentively throughout the meeting.

Before the interaction, at the office of the Special Commissioner of Police Shri Robin Hibu, where participants were warmly welcomed with tea and snacks. From there, everyone moved to the office of the CP. At 5:37 p.m., CP Satish Golcha arrived. All participants greeted him by rising from their seats.

Shri Robin Hibu gave a brief introduction about the purpose of the meeting. He shared that Delhi Police has been conducting awareness and legal training programs for the Northeast community. He encouraged the gathering to “be positive wherever you are and whatever you do.” This was followed by self-introductions from participants representing different communities.

Although many thought the meeting would be short, the CP expressed his wish to spend more time, saying: “I want to listen to you all.” Members then began sharing their problems and bitter experiences.

Supreme Court advocate Liyi Marli Noshi from Arunachal Pradesh spoke about the “trust deficit” in sexual assault cases involving Northeast victims. She said investigating officers often fail to handle such cases properly, and in her experience, none of the accused in POCSO cases were convicted.

Advocate Liyi is herself a victim. In May 2014, she, alongwith a student leader from the Northeast, was beaten up by a group of lawyers at Tis Hazari Court, Delhi, while supporting a woman-victim allegedly molested by a lawyer. She has devoted herself to fighting for justice for Northeast victims for last many years. She recalled a rape case from Munirka in 2014 involving a prominent landlord’s son, who allegedly raped a minor girl from Manipur. The accused was convicted this year but has appealed in the High Court. Liyi also criticized Delhi Police for branding Northeast girls as having “loose character.”

Another young woman from the Bodo community spoke of “economic exploitation by landlords.” She said Safdarjung Enclave, though a hub for the Northeast community and a place where they feel safer, has become a hotspot of exploitation. Rents are extremely high — around Rs 20,000 for a 1BHK and Rs 30,000–40,000 for a 2BHK. These rents rise every year, causing hardships for students and working youth from the Northeast.

A representative from the Gorkha community of Darjeeling, Miss Nikita Yonzon, raised two key concerns. First, she emphasized that Gorkhas from Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Dooars should be recognized and given attention by the Special Northeast Cell. Second, she called for a special recruitment drive in the Delhi Police for members of the Gorkha community.

Bruce K. Thangkhal, former media in-charge of the North East Support Centre & Helpline, suggested that Delhi Police could organize “Cultural Integration Awareness” programs in schools such as DPS and Kendriya Vidyalayas. Through joint activities like singing and games, Northeast students could build connections with others (students), who in turn could become ambassadors of cultural integration.

Other issues highlighted before the CP included:

1. Low presence of PCR vans in North Delhi (Mukherjee Nagar, Model Town, Nehru Vihar, etc.)

2. Exorbitant rise in rents against members of the Northeast community.

3. Landlords refusing to return rent agreement deposits and security money.

4. Difficulty in lodging FIRs at police stations, with police often uncooperative. FIRs were sometimes registered only after SPUNER intervened.

5. Need for legal awareness and FIR registration guidance for Delhi University freshers from the Northeast.

It was also recalled during the meeting that, in the past, Delhi Police IPS probationers were posted in Arunachal Pradesh to gain field experience and learn from the local communities. Two such IPS officers—Shri Vijay Kumar, IPS, Joint Commissioner (OSD to CP/Delhi), and Shri Rohit Rajbir Singh, IPS, DCP to CP Secretariat—were present and shared their memories. They spoke about the valuable lessons they had learned during their time there, while also acknowledging the harsh reality that racism still persists in many parts of India.

The CP carefully listened to all points and made notes.

“We stand with every law-abiding citizen. No one should deliberately target others. At the same time, don’t blindly support anyone just because of who they are—let’s act as responsible citizens and Delhi residents, supporting what is right,” said Shri Satish Golcha, Commissioner of Police, Delhi.

He further mentioned that if the Delhi Police Helpline (1093) failed to resolve any issue, people could bring it directly to his notice. He assured that the concerns of the community would be taken seriously and also informed that more staff from the Northeast would be deployed in police stations where a large number of Northeast residents live, so that they feel more comfortable and understood.

On the matter of economic exploitation of Northeast residents in Delhi, the CP clarified that it was beyond the jurisdiction of the Delhi Police. He pointed out that such issues should be taken up with the respective state governments, questioning why state governments should not take responsibility for their own people.

Since the launch of the Delhi Police’s Special Helpline for the Northeast (1093) in 2014, with Shri Robin Hibu, IPS, appointed as the nodal officer, many positive changes have taken place. Training on legal awareness—such as how to file FIRs and police complaints—was introduced, regular meetings between the Delhi Police and the Northeast community were held, and support from the police steadily grew. Robin Hibu’s contribution has been remarkable, and over time, incidents of racism and racial slurs against people from the Northeast have gradually declined.

Before his appointment, however, there had been numerous serious crimes committed against members of the Northeast community in Delhi. Since its inception in September 2007, the North East Support Centre & Helpline (NESCH) in Delhi has been working to fight against racism, harassment, discrimination, molestation, and abuse faced by people from Northeast India living in the NCR—especially women.

We were all happy and deeply grateful to the Commissioner of Police for giving us his valuable time and engaging in such a lively and meaningful interaction. The open exchange of views gave us hope that positive changes will follow in the days to come.

We sincerely appreciate the CP’s willingness to listen with patience and respect, and we look forward to more such meetings in the future—platforms where the voices of the Northeast community can be heard, understood, and acted upon.