After e-ticket and health service through cellular network, citizens are now offered filing complaints with police by texting on mobile phone and general diaries online.
Under a joint initiative by the government’s Access to Information (A2I) programme, mobile phone operators and police department, the arrangement comes into effect by the end of this month.
A2I started working on this project in mid-2009. It was delayed due to various technical glitches, officials concerned said.
KAM Morshed, assistant country director of UNDP in Bangladesh, said, “UNDP is working with the home ministry on various concerns. This A2I initiative is one of them.”
“The move is aimed at ensuring that the ordinary people get easy access to law enforcement agencies in emergency,” he said.
Once the scheme opens, people will be able to file complaints with the police control room or complain desk by sending SMS to 7373. Foreigners staying in Bangladesh can also send their particulars to the same number.
All the police stations in the country will send data related to First Information Report (FIR) to the central short message service (SMS) server of the police headquarters.
Police officials will send all their necessary information to the central server by sending SMS to 7374.
The information in this server could be accessed by texting ‘FIR’ to 7373 from any operator.
Anyone will be able to submit a general diary (GD) or collect a police clearance certificate online.
The online GD system is already being implemented experimentally, the officials said. A police clearance certificate website is also under construction.
People will also have the access to latest information on their passports through the service.
It would also be possible for law enforcers to report or track any lost or stolen vehicles by texting on mobile phone.
