Police must keep evolving with changing times and make the best use of available technology, says DGP Dixit.Maharashtra police is now going digital on orders of the Director General of Police (DGP) Praveen Dixit. He has asked policemen to make use of technology when it comes to handing of the FIR copies to complainants. As per Dixit’s instructions, the police will now e-mail or WhatsApp FIR copies to the complainants.Speaking to Mirror, Dixit stated that complainants will have to request for soft copies during registering the FIR. “The digital facilities will be used only in cases where complainants ask for the complaint copy on e-mail or WhatsApp. The whole idea is to make use of the available technology to make life easier for the citizens,” he said.Further elaborating on the issue, the DGP stated that the instructions or not mandatory, but voluntary. “In sensitive cases where complainants do not want to reveal their identities, like mobile numbers or e-mail ids, digital services will not be made available,” Dixit further added.Asked how would the idea wok in rural areas, especially in remote villages, the DGP said that most of the people these days have Internet and phone facilities at their disposal. “But in cases where people do not have any of these facilities, they will keep getting the FIR copies the way they used to be delivered earlier,” Dixit clarified.Usually when a citizen lodges a complaint he/she is entitled to get the FIR copy. But many times, due to the ignorance of the citizens and negligence by the police, the FIR copy is not asked for, said a senior police official on condition of anonymity.Former Mumbai police commissioner MN Singh admitted the negligence on the police’s part and ignorance on the part of the public. Welcoming the initiative taken by Dixit, Singh said, “With change in time, policing should also change. It is only when the police working becomes fully digitised that the handing over of the FIR on e-mail or WhatsApp will be 100 per cent successful. Otherwise, it will be a tedious process,” he added.Meanwhile, IPS officer turned lawyer YP Singh claimed that this is against Section 154 of the CrPC, which mandates that physical a copy of the complaint needs to be given on the spot to the complainant when the FIR is registered. “Instead of using technology to bring in more transparency in the system, the DGP should put all FIRs registered across the state on the police website,” Singh said. “This will prevent the manipulation and antedating of FIRs,” he added.In fact, many in the department are not too happy with the move as they feel it will add to their working hours. “The department is already short-staffed. This new system of taking pictures of the FIR or scanning them to send it to complainants will certainly require more duty hours,” a police sub-inspector said. “The idea may be good, but is not very feasible,” he added.