PANAJI
The Goa Police’s public grievance initiative, introduced last year to improve police-community relations, is drawing a steady response with 2-3 citizens, at times 5-6, attending each session to raise their concerns directly with Director General of Police (DGP) Alok Kumar.
Held every Tuesday and Friday at the police headquarters from 11 am to 12 noon, the biweekly ‘janata darbar’ has been allowing citizens to flag their grievances in person. The department stated that this initiative, which began in November 2024, is aimed at creating a channel of direct communication between the public and the police leadership.
Speaking to The Goan, DGP Kumar termed the response to the initiative as encouraging. “We are getting two to three complainants in each session, and that’s a good response,” he said.
Complaints brought before the top cop range from police inaction, delays in ongoing investigations or accepting complaints, to civil disputes not directly under police jurisdiction.
“Only where action is warranted, the respective Superintendents of Police are asked to follow up and expedite the investigation. There are also cases where police intervention is not required. In such matters, we explain the position to the complainants. Most issues are sorted on the spot,” he added.
In instances where the DGP is unavailable, the Inspector General of Police or the Deputy Inspector General (Range) steps in to conduct the session.
The department had earlier said the initiative is designed to ensure quicker grievance resolution and bridge the communication gap between citizens and the police force.
