DGP's initiative evokes lukewarm response

Mangalore, April 5: The response to the move of the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police, S.T. Ramesh, asking people to mail him directly their grievances about the police had been lukewarm.

“I have been receiving about 20 e-mails every day. While some are junk, the others are sent to Additional Director-General of Police (Grievance and Human Rights) and Superintendents of Police concerned for action,” Mr. Ramesh said and added: “I want more mails.”

This new mode of grievance redress was launched by Mr. Ramesh on March 15. He had asked people having grievance, including non-registration of cognisable cases, to approach him by sending e-mail to [email protected] or to Additional Director-General of Police (Grievances and Human Rights) Om Prakash ([email protected]).

This was in addition to the existing modes for grievance redress. While there are help desks at the offices of the Police Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police, a toll-free number (18004250100) has been set up to receive complaints and grievances at the office of the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police.

Mr. Ramesh said the new avenue would be for those who had found it hard to get their grievances redressed from the existing modes. “It is an initiative towards receiving all the complaints,” Mr. Ramesh told The Hindu.

The successive DGP-IGPs had been trying to address the problem of non-registration of complaints and not giving copy of the First Information Report (FIR). The then DG-IGP R. Srikumar in September 2008 started the toll-free number (18004250100), which is not only meant for airing grievance but also providing information to police. His successor, Ajai Kumar Singh, put in place a help desk at the Commissionerates and at the offices of the Superintendent of Police.

This desk, which functions throughout the day, receives complaints about non-registration and follow-up actions taken.

It was on the directions of Mr. Ajai Kumar Singh that every police station observed third Sunday of each month as Complainants Day when people could approach the police to get details of the progress made with regard to their complaints.

Mangalore Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told The Hindu that since one year into functioning of the help desk, there had not been a single complaint of refusal to register FIRs. “The complaints are being promptly registered and none have approached the desk so far,” said Mr. Singh. With regard to the response to Complainants Day, Mr. Singh said the number of visits of the complainants had considerably come down.

The previous Superintendent of Police of Dakshina Kannada A. Subramanyeshwara Rao said 28 cases had been registered through the help desk since last year. A majority of these cases related to land disputes and counter allegations. “Disciplinary action has been taken where officer has been found to have deliberately not registered a complaint,” he said.

IVRS facility soon

Mr. Singh said that an IVRS (Integrated Voice Response System) facility would be opened to give details of action taken on petitions.

A beginning will be made by opening the facility at his office. “The work is almost over. We are waiting for the telephone connection,” Mr. Singh told The Hindu.

Mr. Singh said the IVRS facility would be extended to all police stations in Mangalore. “You will get details about the progress made on the petitions, including the officers dealing with them,” Mr. Singh said.