Harassed by thana officials? Having difficulty in filing a case or getting frustrated to see a registered case making no headway?

Ranchi police have now come up with a dedicated grievance redress cell aimed to help people in distress.

Starting Tuesday, the cell (room 301) near the office of Ranchi SSP at the district collectorate in Kutchery will hear out cases that have not been registered so far or whose probe has not made any progress, proving helpful for people, like say, engineering student Badal Singh, who had found Pandra thana reluctant in accepting his cyber job fraud case.

Ranchi SSP Kuldeep Dwivedi, the brains behind this initiative, has said the cell would be open whenever the SSP office is open. "The cell will function from 10am to 5pm with seven dedicated workforce at present but their number might increase in the future depending on response and need," SSP Dwivedi said.

On why he implemented this cell, SSP Dwivedi explained that the facility was needed to act as a bridge between distressed people and police.

"People turn to higher authorities when their grievances aren't heard anywhere down the line. At the same time, it's not possible for me to meet everyone always. There may be back-to-back official meetings, a law and order situation, or something else to fully occupy senior police officers. But, I'm also aware that those who come to my office do so with a lot of hope their grievances would be heard, and if I fail to meet them, they have plan another appointment with me. With this cell, that problem is eliminated."

Now, a team headed by a sub-inspector, which is deputed at this cell would hear complainants and take immediate corrective steps. Complainants, in turn, would get a computer-generated receipt with a number for future reference.

"Now, if someone still wants to meet me, the cell personnel concerned would tell him/her about the likely time when I am free. Also, when I meet them, I can punch the person's receipt number to see the status of the case and action taken, so that I can suggest suitable action more quickly," the SSP added.

Sub-inspector Gulab Singh, the in-charge of the cell, said over 30 people turned up on debut day.