POLICE Commissioner Matthew Varley yesterday took time out to visit Noro town in the Western Province.
A statement from the Police Media Unit said, the visit was to brief the Noro Town Leaders and members of the community on the facts and findings of the police investigation into the accidental death of a young man in the township on 6 February 2018.
Rumours and speculation about the cause of this death were behind the reasons the Bougainvillean men came to Western Province last week.
During the visit to Noro, accompanied by the Assistant Commissioner, Crime, Ian Vaevaso, the Commissioner also updated the Noro Town Clerk and members of the community of the Gizo operation and assured them the situation has returned to normal and that they are free to go about their normal lives.
“I wish to thank the Noro Town Clerk David Mamupio for meeting with my delegation and organising a meeting with the community there which was attended by several hundred people. We took the opportunity to explain to them the death of the young man in the township on 6 February was indeed a tragic accident,” said Commissioner Varley.
Assistant Commissioner, Crime, Ian Vaevaso explained the investigation: “Police made this conclusion following two separate investigations overseen by the National Crime Investigation Department (NCID) after the death of the young man during which they interviewed the three witnesses who were with the young man when he fell and tragically hurt himself.
“Based on the evidence obtained by police investigators and information obtained from the nurse at the local clinic, it was a tragic accidental death and there is no reason for it to be considered as a suspicious death or even murder as some are now calling it on social media,” AC Vaevaso explained.
The file of the police investigations into the tragic accident will now be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for viewing.
The Commissioner also assured the people of Noro that RSIPF will continue to have extra resources both in the township as well as in Gizo for the coming days to ensure nothing flares up again. He also held a muster of the RSIPF officers at the Noro and Munda Police Stations to commend them for their dedication to their duties during the recent days.
