CHENNAI: With the beginning of the new academic season for schools and colleges in the city, the student community, besides having to cope with the tension of a demanding curriculum, is also forced to face a plethora of problems like eve-teasing and ragging in public places and inside the institutions. While some boys and girls may stand up to their tormentors, others quietly swallow their indignation, apprehensive of the ‘stigma’ of reporting a crime.
Now, such complaints can be filed through the Tamil Nadu police website, under the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) introduced under the newly formulated National e-Governance Plan. The CCTNS project aims to provide all government services in an integrated manner at the doorstep of the citizen at an affordable cost.
Under the CCTNS, the Tamil Nadu police website offers an impressive array of citizen friendly e-services. Topping the list under citizen services is complaints/information to the concerned police station, where application forms to register a complaint through the internet can be downloaded, filled and submitted. Other online application forms pertaining to information on tenants, arms, arms renewal, browsing centre, gymnasium, mike, private security agency and video license are also available at the website. Most importantly, the website also displays missing persons and unidentified bodies along with the victims’ photographs.
Describing corruption as an evil, the website also displays the website and phone numbers of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption, where complaints about graft can be sent by aggrieved citizens. There is also a women’s helpline and a Track Child portal, besides information on recruitment for those interested in joining the police force.
In a new initiative under the CCTNS, victims of ragging and eve-teasing can also lodge their complaints through the online complaint registration form or send an email to raggingcomplaints@gmail.com False complaints are subject to prosecution under the Indian Penal code. The registration form says the complaints will be sent to the police station, superintendent or the commissioner of the area to which the complaint relates.