Shimla: Geared to turnaround police from being counted as a force into a service provider, Himachal Police today demonstrated online services that allow for online registration of cyber crimes and a payment gateway which enables compounding of traffic challans (tickets) over the internet as well as through mobile phones.
Describing the process of handing out mobile challan for something such a wrong parking, police officer Satwant Atwal Trivedi at an interaction with citizens and the media said, “on a pilot basis 60 mobile phones with designated traffic police personnel have been enabled with an online data center whereby challans for wrongful parking can be handed out. Information of being booked is relayed to the vehicle owner over a mobile phone number and an option for compounding the offence by making a payment through the mobile phone itself is offered.”
Online payment of the compounding fee can be paid through the Himachal Police portal also, said Ashok Sharma, senior police officer who has been instrumental in creating the user friendly police – citizen interface.
This facility would save unnecessary harassment, especially of outstation vehicle owners, as well as the traffic police and courts for settling what otherwise is a spot compoundable offence, said Sharma.
Demonstrating the other services of the portal, the police officers said that over 4000 complaints in the year had been received by various police stations online and another 2000 through an SMS service started in 2007.
For lack of knowledge about jurisdiction within the police force and for any victim of cyber crime, we have launched a module for online registration that is monitored at the police headquarters itself, said Ashok Sharma.
Police will ascertain what clause of the IT Act has been violated and will also register the complaint at the police station under whose jurisdiction addressing the complain falls into, he added.
Speaking on the occasion ID Bhandari, DGP Himachal said, “role of police in the state was changing from being a force to one as a service provider.”
Given the difficult mountain terrain, but with internet having connected all police stations and real time monitoring of daily crime rate, registration of FIRs, supervising the police budget and other administrative matters having become possible, we are able to provide better services to the citizens, said Bhandari.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads the team of media professionals at Hill Post.
In a career spanning over two decades through all formats of journalism in Electronic, Print and Online Media, he brings with him enough experience to steer this platform. He lives in Shimla.
