TIRUCHI
The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown has prompted many residents to prefer complaints to the Tiruchi city police expressing their grievances and seeking remedial action over the dedicated WhatsApp number notified for the purpose.
Necessary action had been initiated on such complaints that were sent by the public through the WhatsApp with First Information Reports (FIRs) having been filed in some of them. The police early this month had appealed to the public to make use of the notified WhatsApp number to lodge complaints so as to get their grievances redressed.
Responding to this appeal many residents took to the social messaging platform to send their complaints which were, in turn, brought to the notice of the jurisdictional police station by the Social Media Cell of the city police.
Commissioner of Police J. Loganathan said that the city police had received 70 complaints through WhatsApp so far since the beginning of this month when he assumed office. Action had been taken on nearly 40 complaints till now and FIRs have been registered on some of them, Mr. Loganathan said.
The complaints were of diverse nature and included disputes pertaining to money and property transactions, family rows, nuisance caused by drunken persons, disagreements among neighbours. There was also a complaint wherein a woman resident who was in a containment zone sought help from the police to permit her to go for periodic medical examination.
The city police in this case conveyed the information to the Tiruchi Corporation authorities and arrangements were made for the woman to undergo a medical examination, Mr. Loganathan said. In some cases, the complaints were settled speedily by prompt intervention.
Mr. Loganathan said the response from the public to the city police appeal in preferring complaints through WhatsApp was encouraging in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation. The complaints are also forwarded to the WhatsApp group comprising city police officers for the officer concerned to take note of the same.
The city police has made efforts to improve its functioning by ascertaining feedback from the complainants on whose petitions CSRs (Community Service Register) have been issued. Mr. Loganathan said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) had been asked to review the petitions in which CSRs had been issued by police stations functioning within the city limits. The Deputy Commissioner would randomly pick up some CSRs and speak to the petitioners to ascertain their feedback with respect to the inquiry conducted by the police officer concerned and whether they were satisfied with it.
Mr. Loganathan said instructions had been given to all police stations falling within the city limits to install boards in the station premises mentioning his mobile and land line numbers as well as that of senior police officers for the petitioners to contact them in case they were not satisfied with the action taken by the respective police station.
This would also enable us to assess the performance of the officers attached to the station concerned, Mr. Loganathan further said. The board also contains the WhatsApp number 9626273399 for the public to send their complaints.
