Amid Baruipur fallout, Kolkata Police tightens SOPs for handover of Zero FIR

4 min readKolkataUpdated: Jul 12, 2026 08:14 PM IST

Police investigation into the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in Baruipur, South 24 Parganas. (Express Photo)

Amid severe public outrage and intense political turmoil across West Bengal following the brutal rape and murder of a minor girl in Baruipur, the Kolkata Police has issued strict guidelines to overhaul the processing of ‘Zero FIRs’ in the district.

The directive aims to eliminate “administrative reluctance” and “systemic lethargy” at the police station level, said an official.

The official order, issued by the Commissioner of Police on Sunday, points out a glaring gap in the current law enforcement mechanism, stating that jurisdictional handovers have frequently crippled the critical initial hours of investigation.

“It has been observed that there is an inordinate delay in filing of FIR after registration of Zero FIR within the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police as well as neighbouring districts. Such delays adversely impact the timely disposal of criminal cases and the effective administration of criminal justice,” says the order, a copy of which is with The Indian Express.

The new guidelines

To enforce accountability, the top brass has laid down five mandatory compliance directives for all police stations:

First, the officer-in-charge registering the Zero FIR must personally contact the counterpart at the receiving police station to ensure an immediate and seamless transition of the case.

Second, the transferring officer is mandated to communicate all relevant facts of the case along with the contact details of the complainant to the receiving Officer-in-Charge.

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Third, police can no longer keep the victims or families in the dark; the order directs that the complainant must be actively briefed about the exact follow-up action being taken by the department.

Fourth, the contact details of the Officer-in-Charge of the receiving police station must be shared directly with the complainant to enable transparency.

Fifth, in a direct reflection of the prevailing law-and-order conditions, the order mandates that “in all cases relating to offences against women, the registration and transfer of the Zero FIR shall be reported immediately to the concerned divisional Deputy Commissioner of Police”.

Recent cases

The issuing of the new SOPs follows a wave of massive protests and law-and-order disruption in Baruipur, where local residents clashed with the police, alleging initial delays in the police investigation after a 12-year-old girl went missing and was subsequently found dead in a village pond. The situation escalated into a full-blown political row, further complicated by the subsequent encounter of the prime suspect, Prabhas Mondal, in police custody.

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With public trust on the police under severe strain, the new notification states a clear mandate from the top leadership: police stations can no longer treat Zero FIRs as bureaucratic paperwork to be passed off reluctantly. Under the new notification, the transferring desk where zero FIR will be filed remains actively responsible until the case is smoothly adopted by the appropriate jurisdiction.

What is a Zero FIR?

A Zero FIR is a First Information Report that can be filed by any police station, irrespective of its jurisdiction, when it receives a complaint regarding a cognisable offence. No FIR number is assigned at this stage. Once the Zero FIR is forwarded to the relevant police station, it registers a fresh FIR and starts the investigation. It is meant to help victims conveniently lodge a complaint without having to go from one police station to another.

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Sweety Kumari is a seasoned journalist reporting from West Bengal for The Indian Express. With over a decade of experience in the media industry and eight years specifically with The Indian Express, she demonstrates considerable Expertise and Authority across a diverse range of critical beats.

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