CHENNAI: Going a step ahead to inform the complainant about the status of their case, the Tamil Nadu police have introduced a new system of sending short messaging service (SMS).
The facility, started on December 17, aims to keep complainants informed about the status of the case and how it was disposed of.
Explaining the new system, a senior police officer said once the case was registered and the FIR registered in a particular station, an SMS would be sent to the petitioner’s mobile number he/she submitted in the complaint.
The SMS would be sent automatically after the case is entered in the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems), a centralised database that connects all police stations in the country. The SMS will also include information on the type of disposal of the complaint.
Further adding, the officer said that as far as cognizable offenses were concerned, the SMS alert would be sent when the investigations were over and the charge sheet filed in the court.
Officers the SMS alerts to the complainants was available a few years ago, but was discontinued for various reasons. Now, the new system has additional features like disposal of the case, FIR and chargesheet alerts also.
“As of now,the SMS is being sent in English and will soon be sent in the regional language as well. Sometimes, the complainants keep running from door to door to get an FIR copy and are unaware of how to get a copy. This service has been started to make the process simple,” said another police officer.