City resident looking to get FIRs lodged are facing harassment as they are being forced to make several rounds of police stations. This, despite police commissioner Rakesh Agrawal’s directions asking police to ensure that lodging of FIRs is a hassle-free process.
Raghav Singh, 15, a resident of New Nanda Nagar who lost his phone to motorcycle-borne snatchers, and his mother Neelam Singh have been making rounds of the Basti Jodhewal police station for the last four days to get an FIR lodged.
Raghav said that on April 13, he was riding his cycle to the factory where his two elder sisters work, to hand over their lunch. When he reached Kailash Nagar, bikers snatched his mobile phone and fled.
“I made a complaint to the police, but to no avail. We have been taking rounds of the police station almost daily. The IMEI number of the phone has been given to the police and we also arranged CCTV footage in which the faces of the accused are clearly visible. But, a case has still not been registered, ” Raghav said.
“I lost my father a few years ago. My mother and two sisters are the breadwinners. One of my sisters is specially-abled and bed ridden. We five have only one phone to communicate and we can’t afford to buy another one,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“I lost my father a few years ago. My mother and two sisters are the breadwinners. One of my sisters is specially-abled and bed ridden. We five have only one phone to communicate and we can’t afford to buy another one,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Inspector Goldy Virdi, station house officer (SHO) at Basti Jodhewal police station, said that the police are trying to arrest the accused. An FIR will be lodged and the phone will be recovered, he added.
In another case, Sarvan Kumar of Basant Avenue, Roop Nagar, who is an electrician had lost his mobile phone to snatchers at Basant Avenue on February 22.
Kumar said he has made several complaints to the police, including on the email id issued by the police to report snatchings and burglaries, but to no avail. He hasn’t even got a reply, he said.
Police chief Rakesh Agrawal said that in most cases, the police lodge FIRs within 24 hours. He added that he will look into why these cases have not been registered yet.
‘Report theft, snatching on e-mail’
Ludhiana police relaunched the “Hassle-free FIR scheme” after nine months on August 16, 2020. They had invited residents to send their complaints regarding theft, snatchings and vehicle theft at the e-mail address: cp.ldh.police@punjab.gov.in.