App makes it easy, 4 lakh 'lost reports' sent to police

Delhi Police have registered nearly four lakh reports of lost articles since the launch of mobile and web application on February 27.

With the the application, lodging a complaint no longer requires going to the police stations and spending hours there. But lodging false complaints remains a punishable offence.

Police officers say that with over six lakh such reports being registered last year, the application has also significantly reduced the burden on staff.

The application is available on Android, Windows and Apple phones, and on the Delhi Police website www.delhipolice.nic.in. Since February 27, about 3.82 lakh “lost report” have been filed through the app.

“A complaint can be lodged from anywhere in the world and a printable digitally signed ‘Lost Report’ is instantly sent back on the complainant’s mobile phone and e-mail address,” said a police officer.

The report bears a unique Lost Report Number which can be used for future search and retrieval of a copy of the report.

Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi said the department has been consistently adopting new technologies to enhance service and their endeavour will continue to be identifying areas where newer means can help in reducing public inconvenience.
Earlier, a person was required to go to a police station to lodge a complaint about a missing article like an SIM card or an official document like a driving licence or an identity card to be able to obtain a letter – an ‘information report’ – required for getting a replacement.

In most of the complaints, it was often noted that losses were detected by the victims after a gap of time and even the exact place and time of loss may also not be known to them.

“In particular, persons travelling through Delhi or tourists rarely find it possible to go back to the place where the article or document may have been lost and lodge a report in the police station for getting a new document issued,” the officer added.
The digitally signed report can be verified online by the authority which has to reissue a lost document.

When asked if any investigation or enquiry is done by police after lodging of a complaint, the officer said they do not, but will only keep a record of the application for future reference by any person or agency.

The application only accepts complaints which come under the category of ‘lost’. One has to approach the nearest police station of his or her jurisdiction for reporting serious offences.

The officer, however, said there are possibilities of expanding the service.