Srinagar, Dec 16 : J&K DGP R.R. Swain said on Saturday that maintaining law and order and behaving in a non-partisan people-friendly manner is the basic duty of the police. Speaking to the media on the sidelines of his public grievance programme here on Saturday, the police chief said, 'Sometimes the distance between police and public occurs not necessarily because the police have been unresponsive. 'If we go into the genesis of the whole issue, an entire chapter can be written and seminars be held on the topic. I am here to assure you that while maintaining law and order and upholding the rule of law, J&K police will act in the most non-partisan manner. 'But, we would always be on the side of those who are on the right side of law. Non-partisan never means that if tomorrow a thief comes to us and says we should let him off, we will oblige him. That is not possible." The DGP said if ever there has been some gap between the police and the people because of different reasons, he would ensure to bridge it. 'The duties of the police are not easy. We have to decide at the spur of the moment whether an FIR should be registered. That is often not a very easy decision. 'Yet, I must assure everybody that we are here for the people and no police force, however efficient and strong, can succeed without the support of the people we serve," the police chief asserted. He also said it is not only the duty of the police to supervise and enforce law on others. 'Who polices the police? We do that and recent incidents are proof enough to show that we also discharge those duties with full responsibility," he said. During his public grievance programme, the DGP listens to complaints and problems of the common citizens. A widow was recently able to recover over Rs 8 lakh she had been duped of after the DGP listened to her during the public grievance programme and acted swiftly to have the amount recovered. These programmes are held on every Saturday alternately in Jammu and in Srinagar. /IANS