New Delhi: The Delhi Police Thursday informed the Delhi High Court that it would put in place a web portal and a mobile application to allow citizens to file a missing persons report online.
As per the submissions made before a HC bench comprising Justice Manmohan, who goes by his first name only, and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal, it would ideally take 90 days to develop, test and deploy the portal. The app will take another month after that to become functional.
The submission was made during the course of a Public Interest Litigation initiated by the high court on a woman’s letter about her missing daughter. On receiving a response from the Delhi Police earlier, the bench had noted that the FIR in the case had been filed almost a month after the woman had complained about it.
Court asks police to adhere to timeline
In its latest order, the court took note of a similar order passed by it earlier this month, directing Delhi Police to consider allowing online registration of FIRs by way of SMS, emails and WhatsApp.
The status report, submitted before the court by the deputy commissioner of police (legal cell), proposed to begin an e-facility for this purpose. It also laid down a detailed road map for allowing reporting of missing persons online.
As per the proposal, after a complaint is submitted, a PDF copy will be forwarded to several stakeholders, including to a dispatched PCR van/motorcycle, local police station/control room and the Station House Officers concerned.
Complainants will also be informed about the details of the inquiry officer, and will receive alerts about the progress of their cases on their mobile phones, as per the proposal.
The court has directed the police to file a fresh status report on the portal and the app within eight weeks. The status report on the case concerning the woman’s missing daughter has been directed to be filed within four weeks.
Lauding the alacrity shown by the Delhi Police in the matter and accepting its proposal, the court directed it to ensure the timelines are adhered to and general guidelines in the form of Standard Operating Procedure are issued and followed at the ground level.
The matter will next be heard on 5 July.
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