May 24: Calcuttans will be able to lodge a general diary (GD) entry at stipulated police kiosks to report the loss of any of the 31 articles listed by police. A gazette notification issued by Calcutta police on May 22 states:

• Civilians can lodge GD electronically at e-GD kiosks at important junctions without having to visit a police station

• Loss of any of the following articles can be reported through this process: cell phone, SIM card, tablet, laptop, dongle, PAN card, voter identity card, ration card, education certificate, ATM card, bank locker key, Aadhaar card, bank passbook, driving licence, LIC policy paper, medical insurance card, railway pass, student identity card, share certificate, bus pass, parcha, passport, mutation certificate, khajana paper, birth certificate, death certificate, KBB/NSC, office identity card, rent bill, electricity bill and vehicle number plate.

The process of lodging an e-complaint

• A complainant has to register himself/herself through a mobile authentication (one-time-password) process for lodging an e-GD. He/she will have to provide his/her name, address and an alternative contact number

• The complainant will then have to mention the type of complaint, place of occurrence, date of occurrence, name of the police station and select the item that has been lost from a list

• An e-GD number will be generated.

The grey areas

• It is not clear what an e-police kiosk is and where such kiosks will be located

• Officers are in the dark whether each police station will have an e-kiosk or a kiosk will serve a cluster of police stations