Visits to police stations turn traumatic for complainants

Despite all the initiatives taken by the senior officers in Chennai police to make public interaction with the police as friendly and hassle-free as possible, the situation on the ground remains the same — as hostile and scary as possible to a complainant.

Now, the online facility to file a complaint too has begun to give complainants anxiety attacks. During its launch, officers had claimed that the victims of mobile phone and vehicle theft no longer need to wait endlessly at the police station to make police accept their complaint and give an acknowledgement, as they can do it online.

The procedure involves police stations issuing the CSR a day or two after a complaint is submitted online.

But, a two-wheeler owner from Tiruverkadu area has been visiting the local police station for several days now to simply make to police register a complaint after his bike was stolen recently.

When the police refused to entertain him, the complainant even pleaded with the police that he did not want the police to trace his missing bike but simply register a complaint as without a formal complaint and acknowledgement, he could not even claim insurance. “But even then, they did not care and asked me to go and look for the bike instead,” the complainant said.

Later, he managed to lodge a complaint online but even then, the police officers at the station refused to issue him the CSR.

Ironically, very few people file complaints for to retrieve stolen or missing vehicles. Most of them approach the police only to be able to claim their insurance. But, by refusing to acknowledge the complaint or delaying the process, such officers not only deny justice to the victim but also make a mockery of the system.

 — Venkadesan S, Chennai