e-FIR: A brief guide to lodge an E-FIR

Is your vehicle stolen? Or is there a mobile theft? You don’t have to rush to the police stations, you just need a gadget to file an e-FIR. 

An important decision has been taken by the government for the wider interest of the public of e-FIR. When all the systems are going digital, a citizen can easily file an FIR on the digital platform. The e-FIR facility will be available on http://gujhome.gujarat.gov.in or Citizen First Mobile App. 

Get to know some guidelines for lodging an e-FIR:

• An e-FIR can only be made if the accused is unknown and no force was used in the incident
• After the completion of the preliminary investigation, the facts found in the complaint will be converted into FIR
• If no action is taken within five days regarding the e-FIR, disciplinary action will be taken against the responsible police officer

The list of e-FIR facilities states that the complainant will have to register on the Citizen Portal and upload the details of the vehicle or phone theft complaint online. After the signature of the complainant on the printout of the application given at the time of the online application, the application has to be scanned and uploaded. The complainant will be informed of the receipt of the complaint application via E-Mail-SMS.

An e-FIR will be forwarded to the police station named by the complainant in the details of the incident. If the name of the police station is not mentioned then the e-FIR will be forwarded to the office of the Commissioner of Police / Superintendent of Police and the office of the Commissioner of Police / Superintendent of Police will send the e-FIR to the concerned police station immediately. 

Officers on duty at the police station will be able to view the e-FIR in the portal worklist by logging in with the e-Gujcop user ID and in any case, will have to send the officer-employee on duty at the police station for preliminary investigation within 24 hours. When the preliminary investigation is handed over to the investigating officer on duty at the police station, the investigating officer, as well as the complainant, will be informed about the assignment of the investigating officer by e-mail or SMS.

Upon receipt of such e-FIR, the investigating officer will first make the necessary study of the e-FIR and within 48 hours of uploading, contact the complainant and verify the relevant documents as well as visit the scene of the vehicle or mobile phone theft. The entire process will be completed within 48 hours of the e-FIR being uploaded and a preliminary investigation report will be sent to the station in charge. The station officer will then properly dispose of the e-FIR within 2 hours of receiving the report. If the details of e-FIR are correct then FIR will be entered in e-Gujcop. If the scene of the incident does not fall within the jurisdiction of the police station, it will be referred to the police station concerned. If the e-FIR contains false documents and incorrect details, the application will be filed.

The station officer will have to dispose of the e-FIR within 72 hours of uploading it from the Citizen Portal-Citizen First mobile app. If it is not disposed of within 2 hours, the pending e-mail and SMS regarding having e-FIR will be sent to the superior police officers immediately. Thus, if the final decision regarding the e-FIR is not taken within five days, the e-FIR will be automatically allotted the standard running number of FIR by e-Gujcop and the station officer will have to take further action on it just like any other normal FIR. In addition to this, it has been further stated that the Commissioner of Police-Deputy Commissioner of Police-Superintendent of Police or the concerned officer of the police station will be held liable for non-compliance with the e-FIR within 120 hours.