BHOPAL: Till date, 58 cases have been registered in the state on the basis of e-FIRs. Seven FIRs registered online were rejected, including one pertaining to the 'theft' of a mark sheet, in which the complainant had even mentioned the price of the mark sheet (Rs 200), said the officials.
The Madhya Pradesh police launched the trial run of the e-FIRs on August 12.The citizen can now file an FIR by logging in to the app or the website of MP Police.
Additional director general (ADG) (State Crime Record Bureau) Chanchal Shekhar, told Free Press that most of the e-FIRs are pertaining to theft of mobile phones and two-wheelers. Earlier, people did not bother to file FIRs in cases of thefts involving small amounts of money as they did not want to take the trouble of visiting a police station.
But now people are filing FIRs even in cases of thefts in which the value of the stolen goods is just a couple of thousand rupees, said the ADG.
Besides big cities like Indore and Bhopal, e-FIRs were received from small towns like Ashok Nagar, Sheopur, Singrauli, Datia and Damoh, the officer informed.
The police station in-charges have 24 hours to decide whether a case should be registered on the basis of an FIR. "We were apprehensive that people will file frivolous complaints. Hence, the police station in-charges have been given the power to reject FIRs which do not warrant registration of a case," Shekhar said.
Online FIRs will be accepted only in certain category of cases including ordinary thefts and vehicle thefts. Those filing such FIRs will not be required to visit the police station. However, if someone approaches the police station to register such FIRs, they would not be asked to file e-FIRs.
"Offline FIRs will continue to be registered at all police stations," the ADG said.
If a complainant lodges an e-FIR with the wrong police station, the police station in-charge concerned will transfer it to the proper PS. Once a case is registered, the complainant will be informed through SMS and he will be able to print a copy of the FIR.
The police station in-charges will be required to dispose of e-FIR cases within a stipulated time period. Investigations into cases of ordinary theft will be completed within 45 days. The deadline for probe into vehicle theft cases has been fixed at 30 days from the date of registration of the case.
