Bengaluru police overhaul: 5 commissionerates, 6,633 new posts and Rs 765 crore plan

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said it is a conceptual proposal, adding that the matter is still at a preliminary stage and has not yet been discussed in detail with the relevant stakeholders.

Kharge added that Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has, however, directed the Home Department to examine and propose more effective and efficient measures to further strengthen policing and improve police governance in Bengaluru.

What the proposal says

Seemant Kumar Singh, Commissioner, Bengaluru police, sent the draft proposal, dated August 1, to M A Saleem, Director General and Inspector General of Police.

The proposal to split the single commissionerate into five commissionerates — Central, North, South, East, and West — argues that Bengaluru’s existing model is no longer adequate, citing the city’s rapid expansion, growing population, and rising policing demands.

The proposal cites the reorganisation of the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into five corporations under GBA and argues that police jurisdiction should be realigned accordingly to ensure better coordination between civic and law-enforcement authorities.

Under the proposal, the existing Bengaluru police commissioner would be redesignated as the chief commissioner of police, a post equivalent in rank to a DGP.

Presently, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Kolkata have more police commissionerates but do not have a chief city police commissioner’s post, as proposed for Bengaluru.

It notes that the city’s policing jurisdiction has expanded to about 712 square kilometres following the merger of areas from Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru South (formerly Ramanagara) districts, while the population has crossed 1.56 crore.

Increasing crime and cybercrime, heavy traffic, and the concentration of government offices, courts, IT hubs, and other public spaces have further strained the existing policing structure, it says.

Under the proposal, the existing Bengaluru police commissioner would be redesignated as the chief commissioner of police, a post equivalent in rank to a DGP. The CCP would supervise five new regional commissionerates, each headed by a commissioner of police, of the rank of Inspector General of Police (IGP) or Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG).

The proposal also envisages a separate commissioner of traffic and additional or joint commissioners for administration, intelligence and crime, with the crime wing overseeing specialised units such as the Central Crime Branch, cybercrime police stations, and VVIP security.

Each of the five proposed divisions would get its own deputy commissioners of police, assistant commissioners, and reorganised police station limits, along with dedicated Women’s and CEN police stations. The document details a combined requirement of 6,633 new posts across the five divisions — 677 for Central, 944 for North, 1,043 for South, 1,235 for West and 2,734 for East, which would be the largest of the five.

The overall financial outlay for the restructuring is approximately Rs 764.87 crore, comprising Rs 368.71 crore in recurring annual expenditure and Rs 396.16 crore in one-time costs for infrastructure, vehicles, equipment, and CCTV networks.

What retired police officers say

However, the proposal to split the existing single police commissionerate has triggered debate within policing circles.

While many retired police officers agree that Bengaluru has become too large to be managed as a single commissionerate, they are divided over the proposed governance model, particularly the creation of a chief commissioner of police above the five commissioners.

The Indian Express spoke to multiple police officers who said such proposals have been made in the past as well.

Retired DGP and IGP S T Ramesh welcomed the move but questioned the need for the post of CCP.

“While restructuring the city police, it need not be mirrored like the civic administration (GBA) as their respective functions are different as chalk and cheese. The fact is that the city has become unwieldy for policing as a single unit,” Ramesh said.

“For effective policing and leadership, it could be divided into smaller commissionerates. But I do not favour creating a single super DGP or a super commissioner to coordinate the work of all police commissioners in the city. The DGP and IGP of the state may supervise and continue to perform that function as at present,” he added.

He also said the commissioners of police are entrusted with magisterial powers, which they may exercise. He, however, said a DGP-rank post could be created in other areas of the police department where such a role is needed.

Meanwhile, retired DGP D V Guruprasad said there was no need for multiple commissionerates in Bengaluru. “During the British era, Bangalore had two parts, the city and the cantonment area. Similarly, we can have two commissionerates – Central Bengaluru and Outer Bengaluru,” Guruprasad said.

“If there are too many commissionerates in a city, there will be challenges of jurisdiction, coordination, and many more. For citizens, there may not be much of a difference, but from a policing point of view, it will lead towards better supervision,” he added.