BREAKING: Nagaland Chief Secretary Temjen Toy passes away

KOHIMA: Nagaland Chief Secretary Temjen Toy passed away at 4 pm on Thursday at his residence in Kohima after a brief battle with cancer. He was 57 years old.

State funeral for Toy will be held at his official residence in Kohima at noon on Friday.

Toy was suffering from lung cancer and has been undergoing treatment at a Delhi hospital. He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.

Toy, who took charge as Nagaland chief secretary in March 2018, is a 1989-batch IAS officer. He was born in January 1964.

He had last tweeted in October 2020 with the message, “Healing in Process.”

Condolence messages are pouring in on Twitter.

Reacting to the news, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio tweeted: “I am extremely saddened at the passing away of @temjentoy, Chief Secretary of Nagaland. He was a humble, upright and dedicated government servant. His death is a huge loss for the Govt. of Nagaland & for the Nagas as a whole. Heartfelt condolences to his family. May his soul RIP.”

Raj Bhavan Kohima tweeted: “Extremely sad and shocked to know that Shri @temjentoy is no more with us. We lost an able administrator and one of the finest human being! May his soul rest in peace.

May God give strength to family to bear with this devastating tragedy.”

“He was a gentleman with wonderfull qualities. His sudden death is a great loss to our Nagaland administration. My prayer for the departed soul rest in peace and give strength to his family members,” said former governor PB Acharya.

Abu Metha, Advisor to the CM tweeted, “Go well my brother. God be with you. No words … Rest in Peace.”

BJP National Spokesperson and Mizoram state in-charge Mmhonlumo Kikon tweeted, “Nagas have lost a shining star in the sad demise of Temjen Toy.”

Offering condolence to the bereaved family, MLA R Khing wrote, “I am shocked and deeply pained to learn about the demise of Shri Temjen Toy, IAS Chief Secretary, Nagaland. He was a wonderful leader and a noble soul.”

Nagaland MP Tokheho Yepthomi also condoled Toy’s death. He tweeted, “I am deeply saddened by the passing of Temjen Toy, CS Nagaland. He was an upright person with a deep sense of integrity and humility. Nagaland has today lost a very fine human being. May his soul rest in peace.”

The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) condoled Toy’s demise on Thursday. It said, “he was the epitome of what a leader ought to be- compassionate, tolerant and assuring towards all.”

“He was the personification of a bureaucrat with a human face,” NDPP President Chingwang Konyak said in a condolence statement.

He said, “In his passing away, Nagaland has lost a gem of a person, an administrator and an officer, the like of whom we may never have again in several lifeimes. He possessed all characteristics that an individual could pray for and was a model for the younger generation.”

(We are constantly updating the story with more information.)

Also Read: No rollback on COVID-19 cess: Nagaland chief secretary Temjen Toy