Effectively dealing with the Police Station

Hello,
------------------It is not a legal advice ONLY a self help--------------------------------

Below are the steps you can take to ensure that the folks at the police station behave the way they are supposed to. Say you are there to file an FIR...

[Applicable only for cognizable offenses]

1. Have a written complaint ready along with its xerox or duplicate copy

2. Keep contacts and addresses of all senior offices such as inspector, DSP, SP, DCP, CP etc. You may be able to get most of these online or by calling their office.

3. Meet the writer and ask them to register a case by giving the original copy of your complaint and also explain the same.

4. If they refused to file an FR then try to meet with the senior officer /inspector or SI. If they don't fudge then you may want to politely tell him/her that you are obligated under Cr.P.C section 154(1)&(2). If would be great if you have voice or video recording capabilities in your phone. If you have one then you should capture their refusal!!!

5. If they still not registering the case then tell them that you are going to call the next higher level office right away and you should make that call if this is still not working.

6. Call the higher office and explain them the situation and ask them if you should send them the complaint per Cr.P.C section 154(3). In most cases they should take care of it on the phone itself.

7. If it doesn't work then you should post the same via registered post and ask them to send you an acknolwedgment and a copy of the F.I.R ASAP. They are supposed to per section 154(3).

8. Give them sometime... call them up and if they still don't do it then you can stop by a local magistrate's office and lodge a complaint and/or file an RTI application with the higher police office to whom you mailed the complaint.

[If there are 10 people who will the above in a month, every month, then in one year that police station would change and you should see a visible effect]

Generally, the higher up you go the respectful and courteous they are (generally!!). So, feel free to approach but you should be confident and you should know the basic laws if you want to push it hard.
Whatever you do, keep a verifiable record of everything. Concrete evidences are powerful!!
Good luck!!
Thanks
Raj