The general diary of a police station functions as an institutional memory and a record of all the activities in the police station. Any citizen can cause an entry to be made in the GD, even without a written complaint. Given below are some of the points you should know about the functioning of police station general diary entry:
The general diary is usually under the custody of Duty officer. The aggrieved citizen can ask the duty officer to make the entry into the GD. It is not necessary that the aggrieved citizen should carry a written petition. The duty officer will provide the citizen with a GD entry slip containing the GD entry number. The GD number of the entry will be unique and the citizen can use it for future reference. Women can avail the assistance of Women Help Desk in all the police stations.

FIR stands for First Information Report. Any investigation starts with the registration of a FIR. The FIR has, over the time become an important document in the criminal justice system. A complainant can register any case in the police station and it’s absolutely free of cost. Any problems faced in registration of FIR should be conveyed to the immediate seniors of the department. Following are some of the points you should know about recording FIR in a police station.

• The complaints are usually received by the duty officer.
• It is not necessary that all the complaints should be written and brought to the police station. You can orally give the complaint to the duty officer.
• If the complaint is given orally, the duty officer will reduce it to writing and then read it to the complainant; you are requested to sign the complaint then.
• He will peruse the complaint and then decide if it a cognizable or non-cognizable case.
• Police is empowered to register the FIR and investigate only the cognizable offences. It is mandated by law that police station should register all the cognizable offences without any prejudice.
• The duty officer will then make a corresponding GD entry and give an entry slip to you.
• He will then register the First Information Report under proper sections of law.
• It is your right to get a copy of FIR then and there itself. So please ask for the copy.
• The FIR copy, GD entry number will be your future reference to the case.
• In case of any problem faced please contact the Officer-in-Charge of the police station.
• If the police station turns down your complaint, you should immediately contact the Sub-Divisional Police Officer. The contact details are given in the website.
• All the ladies can avail the help of Special Women desk established at all the police stations to register the FIR.

The post-mortem report is essential for establishing the cause of death. It is also a document which can be used to prove the death of a person. It is necessary for applying for any insurance claims etc in case of accidental or un-natural death. The post-mortem report will be available in the police stations. Any citizen can follow the procedure given below to obtain the report.

• The application for post-mortem report should be given at the Office of Superintendent of police in Alipore.
• The applicant should also pay a fixed amount of money, Rs 50 in the treasury and obtain the challan.
• The application along with the challan should then be submitted to the public grievance cell of SP.
• The application will then be processed and the report will be sent to the applicant by post.

he police is the nodal agency for sanctioning permission for conducting any public meetings. The applicant should follow the steps given below;

• The citizen intending to conduct the public meeting or procession should submit a request with the local police station
• The application letter should contain following details:
  • Date, time and duration of program.
  • Exact location of meeting or procession.
  • Expected number of people.
  • Micro-phone and loudspeaker if used, separate permission to be taken.
  • Mention the nature of meeting whether it is political, religious etc.
• The application should be submitted at least one week before the program, so that we can expedite the sanction procedure at the earliest.
• The police will then scrutinize the application and then visit the place.
• If the police is satisfied they will accord the sanction for meeting.
• If any problem is observed by the police they will explain it to the organizers and you are requested to co-operate with us, since it’s for the smooth conduction of your program.

The police is not the issuing authority for arms license in South 24 Parganas. Given below is the procedure followed in issuing arms license.

• You may fill up the arms license application form and submit it in the office of District Magistrate office in Alipore.
• The application will be forwarded from DM office to the local police station for scrutiny and verification.
• The local police will verify your details, and check whether you have any cases registered against your name or if you are a trouble monger etc.
• After the scrutiny and verification, the police station will send the recommendation to the DM office.
• You may obtain the license from the DM office, if sanctioned.