‘BE SENSITIVE TOWARDS INJURED COMPLAINANTS’

MUMBAI: Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale has issued an order to all police stations in Mumbai to be extra sensitive towards complainants visiting police stations in an injured state. The commissioner has directed that instead of asking the person to first get a medical report from a hospital (to be eligible to file an Fir/cognisable offence), they should first help him/her with an ambulance to safely reach a hospital for medical aid. Policemen found not adopting this approach would face departmental action.

In his order, CP has stated that it was observed by the top brass of the police force that if an injured person visits police station to file a complaint, police officers do not help the person get treatment. His order stated, “Henceforth, the police shall first issue the injured person a memo for medical examination, make entry in the police station diary and then send a police constable along with the injured person to the government hospital and proceed with the legal procedure after the treatment.”

In 2019, a victim of an assault case had visited Chembur police station. The police first filed an FIR and while going to hospital the complainant suffered a heart attack and died. The case was discussed in a meeting headed by Nagrale. Dr Ruchi Sinha from TISS said, “This is a sensitive decision, but would need a lot of administrative support. An ambulance will not be available at police stations 24x7. Secondly, while transporting the injured to the hospital, if something happens to the person, protocols have to developed.”