A few weeks ago, Pinaki Basu Mallick, of Bally, in Howrah, approached the local police station to lodge a complaint after miscreants ransacked his home. He was allegedly turned away.

A few days later, Basu Mallick visited the district police headquarters with his grievance against officials of Bally police station. To his dismay, he was told that the Public Grievance Cell no longer existed.

Sujit Chatterjee, president of a local social welfare organisation, claims he has received several complaints of police atrocity and corruption.

“The absence of a grievance cell has heightened the situation. We have got in touch with Mihir Bhattacharya, Howrah’s superintendent of police (SP), and hope he takes steps against the guilty. But not everybody can make his way into the SP’s office. The public grievance cell should be reinstated immediately,” asserted Chatterjee.

The cell had been established at the district police headquarters a year ago. “Against every complaint, an inquiry was ordered and if the official was found guilty, he would be punished. However, the cell was shut down during the tenure of former SP Zulfiquar Hassan, who would hear out the aggrieved parties in his own office,” said an officer.

“However, not many people would dare approach him. Some complained that they were not allowed to meet him. As a result, most of the cases got overlooked,” Chatterjee alleged.

Inspector-general of police (law and order) Chayan Mukherjee, told Metro: “There should be some provision for receiving complaints from the public. It is not always possible for the SP to look into grievances. The responsibility for redressal should be entrusted to a senior officer.”

Howrah’s SP Mihir Bhattacharya said: “I would not like to comment on this. It is an internal matter of the police administration. I may also add that when I took up charge of the district, such a cell did not exist. As far as I know, the Enforcement Branch (EB) is responsible for looking into grievances.”

However, EB officials disclaimed any such responsibility. “We do not run any such cell,” an officer said.

According to senior officers, a grievance cell helps the police administration maintain transparency. “Such a cell is not a must for the district police, but it does help the public. We are here to serve the people and to see to it that they are not harassed by anyone — be it a criminal or a cop,” one officer said.