The FIR sheets have a distinct number to make each paper accountable and the government emblem as watermark that would make it an official document. Usually, each police station in the city would book cases anywhere between 300 to 1,000 and in some stations the number would go up depending upon the jurisdiction. However, after the nationwide lockdown came into force in March, police started booking violators too. “So, the number of cases booked went beyond 1,000 within a few months in most of the police stations,” said an inspector. “Each police station is given 100 FIR sheets after a request is made and one should apply for the next bunch when a station is left with less than 10 sheets. But since stocks have run out, we are being given 30 sheets per month,” added another inspector.

“Now, the Chennai Corporation is booking violators. If the step was taken earlier, this situation would not have arisen,” said a sub-inspector. Deputy Commissioner Feroz Khan Abdulla, the authority to process requests for FIR sheets, was not available for his comment on the shortage of stock.