The idea was discussed at the DGPs conference in Guwahati on Saturday. (Press Trust of India)
There is good news for those who dread registering a complaint at a police station. The government may soon launch a hi-tech project that will minimise policemen's interference and make the police accountable for not taking note of complaints from citizens.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed about this on Sunday in Guwahati, at a conference of senior police and intelligence officials of the country.
The solution presented to PM Modi is much like an ATM machine, which will be installed at public sector banks, and allow a citizen to log a complaint. The complaint will be sent straight to relevant police station, thereby taking away the discretion of the police station of whether or not to take cognizance of a complaint.
And that's not all. A citizen can also write his/her complaint on a piece of paper and deposit that in the machine, which will also work as a telephone and a computer. The machine, called ICLICK, will log all such inputs and generate a number and receipt immediately for the complainant.
This step is being seen as means to empower weaker sections of society, who often bear the brunt of police negligence and callousness. "The receipt generated and log serves two purposes - it works as a daily diary entry whereas the logs would be available to senior officers who then use it to check with the concerned station," a senior officer associated with the project told NDTV.
A project was launched in Odisha in January this year on pilot basis, and the machine is running successfully in Bhubaneshwar. But the scope of complaints is limited to just cases of harassment of women.
Intelligence Bureau Director Asif Ibrahim now wants this concept to be extended to all crimes and spread across the country.
"It is actually a simple idea, these machines can be kept alongside ATM machines - which are present in remotest places of the country," said the senior officer.
Sources have told NDTV that considerable time was spent on Saturday discussing this at the DGP Conference in Guwahati, which was presided over by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. "In principle, all Director General of States Police have accepted the idea," the officer said. The concept will now be placed before the Prime Minister on Sunday.
Although all state police chiefs have accepted the idea, there are still few hurdles to cross before the system becomes a reality. Chief Ministers and Home Departments of every state will have to accept this proposal as well. Also, funds - for buying and maintaining these machines - will have to be arranged. As of now the Intelligence Bureau has proposed that these machines can be housed in the ATMs of Public Sector Banks which have the largest network of ATMs across the country including rural areas.