Repeated attempts to reach concerned government officials for comment went unanswered.
Hyderabad:For over a month, several Telangana government websites, including the Telangana police websites – for which most citizens rely on for lodging complaints, checking their FIR status and more – have remained partially or fully dysfunctional, leaving citizens with no choice but to run pillar to post for basic policing facilities.
Complainants attempting to lodge FIRs, or check their FIR status, have found themselves being redirected to error pages or blocked by server issues.
For Naveen Bansal, a resident of Ashok Nagar, filing a missing complaint for his cousin turned into an ordeal. “At first, the site wouldn’t even open. Hours later, when it finally did, I was redirected to an error page while submitting the complaint,” he said.
Left with no option, Naveen had to visit the police station in person, where he waited for hours before the FIR was finally filed. “When we later tried to check the FIR status online, it either wouldn’t open or said the FIR hadn’t been uploaded,” he added.
Not just the Telangana police website, netizens on social media platforms have complained about their cybercrime complaints not being handled tactfully.
An X user shared, “I had filed a cybercrime complaint a week ago. Today when I tried checking for the status, it showed that the issue has been resolved and the complaint has been closed. However, neither have I seen any progress in my case, nor in the refund process.”
Even the 1930 cyber crime helpline hasn’t helped. A victim, whose private images were morphed and uploaded online, said he was blamed for keeping his account public. “I expected help, but got moral policing instead,” he said.
A senior officer from Cyberabad’s Madhapur division acknowledged the issue. “Online complaints have reduced. People frequently ask us whether they still need to visit the police station, and whether the rest of the process can happen online.”
It isn’t just the police websites. Portals of the Musi Riverfront Development and the Telangana Food Safety Department are also glitchy and difficult to navigate. Many lack basic functionality or crash during use.
Repeated attempts to reach concerned government officials for comment went unanswered.
