The commissioner of Kolkata police, Vineet Goyal, on Thursday told officers to “handle all missing complaints sensitively”, police sources said.
Goyal was speaking at the crime conference attended by cops of the rank of officer-in-charge and above.
The meeting was to discuss crimes reported in January and February. But Goyal referred to businessman Bhavya Lakhani’s murder on March 11 before starting discussions on the relevant months, sources said.
“He said all missing complaints should be dealt with very sensitively,” said an officer.
Any missing complaint can take “an ugly turn and may become a case of homicide or suicide”, the officer said.
“Hence, it is important to give due importance to all missing complaints and treat these complaints sensitively and seriously. The commissioner emphasised that.”
An assistant commissioner said Goyal asked the officers to maintain “proper coordination” between the police stations and the missing persons squad at Lalbazar.
“The commissioner said all police stations should work in tandem with the missing persons squad at Lalbazar and keep each other updated about the outcome of the investigation into the missing complaints,” he said.
The top cop referred to the Lakhani incident, which was reported at Ballygunge police station. His mobile phone was found in an area under Burtolla police station in north Kolkata and the body was found in Nimta, on the northern fringes of the city.
“The commissioner praised the role of Ballygunge police station in the case,” said an officer who attended the meeting.
“He said that had Ballygunge police station refused to register the (murder) case citing jurisdiction, it would have only caused harassment to the victim’s family. In such cases, the priority is to ensure that the victim’s family does not face harassment,” the officer said.