Treat all police complaints as FIR: Home Ministry

New Delhi, Dec 28: In what comes as a fallout of the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case, Home Ministry has decided to issue a circular to all states directing them to ensure that all complaints received by police stations are treated as FIRs.

The circular, which is expected to be issued next week, comes in the wake of the allegations from Ruchika's family that when they lodged a complaint against Haryana ex-DGP SPS Rathore in the 1990 molestation case, police initially refused the register an FIR.

Speaking on the new step being taken by the Home Ministry, sources said that the circular will direct state governments and Union Territories to ensure free and total registration of all complaints as FIRs.

The main purpose behind taking the step is that even if a complaint is false, police is forced to investigate it after registering the FIR.

"If the complaint is found to be false, police can always drop the FIR. But that should not be a deterrent in registering genuine complaints as FIR," an official was quoted as saying.

OneIndia News