The Bengaluru City Police leadership will take stringent action against any police officers misbehaving, harassing citizens or indulging in corruption, said City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh, while speaking at #THTalksBengaluru, The Hindu’s interactive programme on Monday, where he answered readers’ questions.
Responding to multiple questions from readers flagging instances of corruption, including police extorting money from shopkeepers and harassment, Mr. Singh pointed out that in the last five months since he took charge as Commissioner, he has had to suspend multiple officers where evidence pointed to corruption. “I am not a vindictive person. But in the Police Department, corruption affects the victim who is already an aggrieved party, which cannot be tolerated. So in several instances, we have taken action and it will continue,” he said.
He apologised for instances of excesses by policemen during checking at night, raised by readers and appealed to the public to mail or WhatsApp him on his official number, 9480801001, regarding specific complaints and assured action.
Meanwhile, he said the department was trying its best to repair the perception of police among the public and make them more accessible. “When an individual walks into a police station, they are already aggrieved and in some sort of crisis. Our personnel need to be empathetic. From constabulary to the top officers, all of us are told this during our training. But many forget it in due course. We are introducing several in-service courses for our personnel to correct these issues. We also regularly send decoys and call up stations to see how they respond. If anyone is found to be not taking it in the right perspective, then we take it very seriously,” he said.
Many readers had flagged that those who do not know Kannada faced many hurdles interacting with the police. To this, Mr. Singh said Bengaluru is a cosmopolitan city with people from across the country and the world working and staying here and language shouldn’t be a barrier. “If one of our personnel interacting with a person doesn’t know the language the person speaks, the personnel should call someone else who understands the language. Most of the stations have people fluent in multiple languages. We have even made officers of Deputy Commissioner of Police rank liaison officers for communities like those from northeast India,” he said.
Meanwhile, the city police is proactively reaching out to people under the Mane Manege Police initiative launched recently.
“Under the initiative, latest data shows that we have reached 65% of the households and the process is still on. This, for the first time, is giving us a database of who stays where. There are several people staying alone, senior citizens, home-alone women, who may need our help. We are reaching out to them. We are also advising them of any security loopholes in their buildings,” Mr. Singh said, adding this initiative was also giving them tip-offs and had helped them solve crimes in several instances.
Published – November 10, 2025 08:11 pm IST
