Website for FIRs and related services soon

New Delhi: Complainants across the country will soon be able to register their FIRs for seven offences and other related services online as the Home Ministry plans to start a citizen-centric portal for all States and Union Territories in the coming days.
 
Officials said the portal will provide various services to help citizens get details and run a background verification check if they are planning to hire any employee in form of drivers or domestic or if they plan to have tenants. ``In addition some more services will also be provided on this platform. The technical work on the portal is almost over and it will be launched very soon. With this the citizens will not have to visit a police station for some services as the same can be done with the help of this portal,’’ a Home Ministry official said.

 The initiative is part of the SMART policing scheme launched by the Home Ministry following a directive from Prime Minster Narendra Modi. The move is aimed at providing more and better online services to citizens and also assist investigating agencies.

 In addition, to registering FIR some other services that would be available online include address verification of employees, tenants and nurses, permission for hosting public events, lost and found articles and vehicle theft. The scheme would be launched simultaneously across 34 States and UTs.  With this move, officials said, criminal investigation would become more citizen friendly. since all  reports and requests received on the portal would in turn be forwarded to the police in concerned States and UTs  without wasting any time for suitable follow-up action.
 
In order to protect privacy of concerned individuals and for national security reasons, the entire crime data and reports on the portal would be accessed only by authorised police officers. Those seeking details of criminal antecedent verification services will be provided responses through e-mail.

 During his address at the annual conference of senior police officers 2014 in Guwahati, PM Modi had advocated the concept of SMART policing in the country adding that he wanted a police force which took care of the country's law and order in an efficient manner.

``By SMART policing, I mean S for strict but sensitive, M for modern and mobile, A for alert and accountable, R for reliable and responsive and T for techno-savvy and trained,’’ the PM had said during his address to police officers.