Andhra DGP asks police stations to implement zero FIR rule

Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Gautam Sawang on Tuesday ordered all police stations across the state to implement the 'zero FIR' rule. The decision comes just days after the brutal rape and murder of a 27-year-old veterinarian doctor at the outskirts of Hyderabad, in the neighbouring state of Telangana.

Vijayawada: Police stations in Andhra Pradesh have been instructed to implement zero FIR rule which provides for the registration of first information report in cognizable offences even if the matter has not occurred in their jurisdiction.

The instruction has been issued by Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Gautam Sawang, days after the family of a rape victim alleged that the police delayed the registration of FIR over jurisdiction issue.

"A zero FIR is a document that can be registered by any police station when a complainant approaches them for a cognizable offence, whether the case is in their jurisdiction or not," said Sawang.

The DGP has ordered that the details of the memo should be communicated to all police personnel in the state. "Disciplinary action will be initiated against erring officers for non-compliance," he said in the memo issued on Monday.

A 27-year-old veterinarian was brutally gang-raped and killed by four persons before they burnt her body in Shamshabad area in Ranga Reddy district in Telangana last week.

The doctor's family has alleged that Shamsabad police delayed the filing of FIR citing jurisdictional issues.