Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Technical hassles and unawareness are the major reasons behind the lesser number of registration of e-FIRs (electronic FIRs) through MP Police citizen portal (MP e-Cop portal) and mobile app.
Four years after the launch, the system is yet to gain people’s confidence.
Only about 120 e-FIRs have been filed in the state capital till September 2025, which indicates the reluctance of the people to shift from traditional police reporting to digital systems.
The e-FIR platform offers a facility to lodge complaints online, but complex procedures, lack of awareness and technical glitches have made it difficult for ordinary citizens. In many cases, reports are rejected due to incorrect information or unawareness of legal sections, discouraging complainants from trying again.
According to officials, e-FIRs can only be registered in cases in which the accused is unknown, such as minor thefts (up to Rs 3 lakh), vehicle thefts, online or cyber frauds below Rs 5 lakh and certain offences involving women and children.
After submitting an e-FIR, the complainant must verify the case in person within three days at the police station concerned, failing which the FIR is automatically cancelled. Many users are unaware of this rule, leaving their cases incomplete.
Advocate Abid Khan explained that the e-FIR process was complicated for common people. “If the complainant fails to appear at the police station within three days, the e-FIR gets automatically cancelled. This becomes problematic for those who live outside the city or cannot visit in person,” he said.
He added that e-FIRs were limited to very minor cases, which restricted their usefulness.
People were increasingly opting for the Lost Article Report (which included mobile, documents etc) feature instead of filing e-FIRs, Khan said.
Police commissioner Harinarayanachari Mishra said that awareness campaigns were conducted earlier and would continue to educate people about the e-FIR system and other e-services of the police.
E-FIRs could be registered if the cases met certain parameters, he added.
Reasons behind the low number of e-FIRs:
Citizens, especially those less educated and with lesser technical knowledge do not know how to use the e-FIR portal.
Technical glitches such as server errors, OTP failures and document upload issues discourage users from completing the process.
People doubt whether online complaints are taken as seriously as those filed in person.
Delayed action in e-FIR cases compared to immediate police response at the station.
The e-FIR platform covers only non-serious offences like theft or missing items, excluding major crimes such as murder, rape, cyber fraud or large-scale fraud.
Complainants visiting police stations can interact directly with officers.
