Set aside 2 hours each day for public grievances: Gujarat DGP tells his officers

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) G S Malik on Thursday issued an order directing police officers across the state to devote two hours every day to hearing public grievances and ensuring their timely disposal.

The order mandates that senior police officers, including police commissioners, joint, additional, deputy and assistant commissioners of police, as well as superintendents of police, remain available in their offices from noon to 2pm daily to meet citizens, receive written representations and initiate necessary action.

According to the directive, the move is aimed at ensuring that citizens can seek redressal of complaints at the local level without having to approach higher authorities in Gandhinagar, the DGP office or the state secretariat.

The order states that if an officer is unable to remain present due to unavoidable circumstances, the most senior officer available or office staff member must receive applications and place them before the officer concerned on priority.

A separate schedule has been prescribed for police inspectors heading police stations. They have been directed to remain available at their respective police stations from 4pm to 6pm every day to hear grievances, accept written complaints and take necessary legal action.

The directive also prescribes timelines for disposal of complaints. Cases related to economic offences, matrimonial and family disputes, medical negligence and corruption allegations are to be disposed of within six weeks. All other general complaints are required to be resolved within a maximum of 15 days.

Police offices have also been instructed to maintain dedicated registers recording details of citizens approaching them with complaints or representations and the action taken on them.

The order further states that if a preliminary inquiry reveals the commission of a cognisable offence, an FIR must be registered immediately and legal proceedings initiated in accordance with law.

The state police chief has directed officers to ensure fair examination of complaints and compliance with the new grievance redressal mechanism across the state.