BENGALURU: From calls to report an accident, safety issue, crime or health emergency to cases of domestic violence, issues of senior citizens/live alone people, road rage, noise pollution, suicide bid and drug abuse, technology has not only expanded the outreach and service of Bengaluru City Police (BCP) with the upgraded new-age 112 -- the pan-India emergency number -- but also accelerated access and delivery to callers.
Namma 112, the 24/7 police helpline, received 5,22,742 calls for service (CFS) in 2025, an increase of more than 80,000 CFS since 2024. Interestingly, of 5,22,742 CFS, around 1,15,000 were women callers. To assume that the calls had to do with domestic violence would be an assumption driven by stereotype. “A majority of CFS from women had to do with some unusual activity/incident that may have either occurred in their surroundings or they would have witnessed it, like a road accident or some mishap or brawl in the neighbourhood or street,” Joint Commissioner, Administration, Kuldeep Jain told TNIE.
On two occasions since December last year, some alert citizens called the helpline to report suspicious activity of some people in and around a car, which was parked for some time and perhaps abandoned. When the Hoysala team reached the spot, it found contraband drugs inside the parked car.
“Bengaluru City Police are cracking down on drugs and peddlers. We would like more people to report such crimes to 112 so that quick action is taken. Delivery of contraband drugs is becoming a challenge because of increased awareness and surveillance. Possibly, the trafficker dumped the drugs in the parked car and shared the location with his/her customer,” added the officer.
The city police have gone a step forward to shield the caller/informant’s number. “When a call is made on 112, it goes to the command centre in the commissioner’s office. They immediately alert the nearest Hoysala and share the location with a masked number for that CFS. The caller is sent an acknowledgement message and link to track the Hoysala through a masked number.
They can call the Hoysala from that number to rush to the location. Once the complaint is addressed, the masked number is deleted. This is to ensure the privacy and security of the caller,” said Jain.
The police also calls or messages the distressed caller to inquire whether their issue was sorted out, and in what time gap. The police officer added that awareness on Namma 112 helpline is growing in the city.
The number of CFS the command centre gets is a positive sign of public awareness and their faith in the police. In more than 50 to 55 per cent cases, Hoysalas reach the location within 8 to 10 minutes. We get calls from a diverse section of people and age groups. Senior citizens, for instance, call to report noise pollution, construction activity beyond permissible hours in their vicinity or family issues, like abuse by children,” added the officer.