The Union home ministry has issued advisory to the states asking state police forces to inquire into all complaints and take a decision on filing FIRs “within two days’’. The move comes months after the Ruchika Girhotra case drew criticism for the state police causing a delay in the registration of an FIR agai-nst former Haryana DGP S.P.S. Rathore in the 19-year-old molestation and suicide case of the teenage girl.
The MHA advisory said that “equal and fair treatment should be given to very petitioner/complainant irrespective of their status, class or creed and a proper receipt should be given for every complaint.” It has also urged the states to set-up ‘’crime against women and children’’ desks in every police station.
The ministry has asked all state governments and UTs to ensure registration of cases round-the-clock and deal sternly with any dereliction of duty in this regard. While maintaining that complaints received at police stations should be disposed of diligently by holding an on-the-spot enquiry within two days, the ministry has done a balancing act saying that ‘’whenever found appropriate, the complaint should be converted into an FIR.”
To deal with terror and rising Naxal violence, the states have been asked to upgrade ‘’obsolete police equipment, including firearms and riot-control equipment’’ in sensitive and crime prone areas. The home ministry has also told the states to create separate intelligence cadres and appoint a dedicated intelligence officer in each police station. It has also spelled out the need to ‘’reactivate’’ the beat constable system with suitable localisation and modernisation.
Concerned over the slow pace of investigation in crime cases, the home ministry has asked the states to explore the possibility of creating two separate wings — ‘’investigation of crime function’’ and ‘’law and order duty’’ — and begin with its implementation in urban police stations. “The possibility of outsourcing non-core police functions may also be explored,” it said. The ministry said that a mechanism must be put in place to monitor and review the progress of prosecution of criminal cases and reporting the progress to the state government.