Tonk in south-eastern Rajasthan has become the first district in the State to connect all its police stations with the headquarters through video-conferencing facility and the third to have a website of the district police. The move is expected to bring transparency to the functioning of police.
Inspector General of Police, Ajmer range, R. P. Singh, inaugurated the two new features at the Police Lines auditorium in Tonk on Friday. He said the initiative would immensely benefit the public and improve the relations of police with the local communities.
Tonk Superintendent of Police K. B. Bandana pointed out that the new IT-enabled facilities would save expenditure on telephone bills as well as petrol and diesel for police vehicles. It would also ensure an effective supervision of police stations which are situated at an average distance of 80 km in different directions from the district headquarter.
Significantly, the new chapter in the history of policing in the underdeveloped and communally sensitive district has been added with a limited expenditure. The modern IT tools and appliances will help enforce discipline among the staff at police stations, promote face-to-face interaction, bring about better coordination and speed up disposal of public complaints.
The website – http://www.tonkpolice.com – contains information on Tonk district which is an erstwhile principality ruled by Nawabs, its road map, crime scenario, missing persons and unidentified bodies, stolen and recovered vehicles, passport status, arms licence status, servant and tenant verification, official postings list and telephone numbers of police stations and officers.
A distinguishing feature of the website is the facility for making online complaints, in which any person can log in and make complaint about any offence of non-cognizable nature and also submit his or her suggestions.
Ms. Bandana said ten police stations in the district had been connected with video-conferencing in the first phase, while the remaining 11 would be linked up as soon as the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited provides the broadband connectivity.
Tonk Collector Pramila Surana, addressing the gathering, praised the initiative taken by the district police and said it would help strengthen interface with the public.
