DGP’s Public Darbar in Baramulla sparks optimism for grievance redressal

Baramulla, Feb 17: The Public Darbar held at District Police Lines (DPL) in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district by the Director General of Police (DGP) Rashmi Ranjan Swain ignited a sense of optimism and hope among the people who had come to highlight their grievances.

The public grievance redressal programme aimed to provide a platform for people from all walks of life to share their issues and concerns with the expectation of prompt redressal.

Notably, the DGP held his first public darbar on November 25, 2023, saying that the initiative was aimed to know and address the shortcomings in the services offered by the department to the people.

R R Swain took over as the new J&K Police chief on October 31, 2023, and announced his decision to hold a two-hour public grievance redressal programme on the first and third Saturday of every month in Srinagar and on the second and fourth Saturday in Jammu.

Meanwhile, people from all age groups besides some specially-abled persons had gathered at DPL Baramulla, the venue for the public interaction.

People had come with a spectrum of issues ranging from pending SRO cases to transfers, financial difficulties to personal grievances against specific officers.

Given the overwhelming attendance, it was acknowledged that not all issues could be resolved on the spot.

However, the people were charged with hope as they expressed confidence that their concerns would eventually be heard and addressed.

“I retired as Sub Inspector from the Police Department. I have come here with high hopes that my pending grievance regarding the appointment of my son as SPO will be addressed today. The file has moved from SSP Kupwara’s office to IGP’s office and is now at the DGP's office for approval," said an elderly resident who had come from the Hyhama area of Kupwara district.

A woman from Sopore shared her grievance that an in-service officer allegedly did not return money to her family.

“My husband and the officer were running a joint venture. But the officer played a fraud and swindled our hard-earned money and is not returning it now. I want to apprise the DGP about the case and I am hopeful my issue will be resolved,” she said.

Others including young and elderly people, shared that they had come to seek financial assistance, hoping the DGP could intervene in appointing their sons as SPOs.

Cases related to pending SRO and transfers were also presented.

A woman from Pulwama brought to notice a pending SRO case since 2014, hoping for relief from the DGP.

“My husband passed away in 2014 and the SRO case was prepared in favour of my son which is yet to be implemented. I am hopeful that the DGP will do justice to me,” she said.

The outreach programme received positive feedback with attendees expressing hope that their problems would be resolved.

“We have seen how the problems and issues, which were put to the notice of the DGP during public darbars held in previous months, were resolved. We have come with the same hope and expectations today as well,” said a local.

After patiently hearing dozens of cases, DGP Swain actively engaged with the crowd, leaving his chair to personally interact with the people, assure them of redressal, and address their grievances.

“In my life, I am witnessing for the first time that the DGP is sitting among the people to listen to their issues. I also have some concerns that I would like to share with the DGP. I am hopeful that my issues will be resolved,” said an elderly citizen attending the programme. “Since many people have come here with their problems, the timing is limited, and not all issues will be heard. This is a positive step, and the darbar should be held twice or thrice a month.”