Guwahati, Aug. 8: Come Independence Day, and filing a police complaint will be a matter of a few mouse clicks.

Assam police is launching a citizen portal on August 15 that will make it possible for people to file complaints and also check the progress of their cases online.

The portal, a part of the Centre’s Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS), will be managed from a control room at Ulub-ari here. Police stations and offices in the circle, sub-division and district headquarters across the state will have access to the online system.

Citizens logging onto the portal will be able to lodge online FIRs, check status of cases and apply for police verification regarding tenants, domestics and employees and also request permission for staging protests, processions. People can also register their feedback. Besides, they will also have access to information about missing persons with their photographs, unidentified bodies and wanted criminals.

“As soon as an online FIR is lodged by a complainant, his or her complaint will immediately be referred to the police station concerned. Personnel in the station will act on the complaint as soon as they receive it. But the complainant will have to visit the police station within 24 hours to sign the FIR for authentication. We cannot submit the case in court without the complainant’s signature. The portal will cover 342 police station across the state,” inspector-general of police (law and order) S.N. Singh told The Telegraph.

After lodging requests for police services, a complainant will be able to check status of the cases by using his or her user ID and password. “The portal is already on trial run and will be formally launched on August 15. People can give their feedback and suggestions regarding police services and can write directly to director-general of police regarding any grievances,” Singh said.

He said 1,000 police personnel had already been trained to handle the CCTNS system and the citizen portal. “We are planning to train all our personnel gradually to acquaint them with the system,” he said.

“The portal will help, as people often complain of non-registration of cases. Once they file the online FIR, they will immediately receive acknowledgment,” another police official said.

Sources said the portal would provide the investigating officers with the technology and information to facilitate investigation of crime and detection of criminals and improve their functioning vis-à-vis law and order and traffic management. “It will help us share information and data among police stations, districts and the state,” the official said.