West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday announced an ambitious plan to reduce police emergency response time from nearly three hours to just five minutes, unveiling a series of reforms aimed at modernising policing, strengthening cybercrime enforcement and improving women's safety across the state.
The Chief Minister said a statewide 112 emergency response service would be operational before this year's Durga Puja. Around 16,000 newly trained personnel, including 12,000 from the West Bengal Police and 4,000 from Kolkata Police, will be deployed by September to support the initiative, backed by an expanded vehicle fleet and specialised training from the Rashtriya Raksha University.
The announcement coincided with the inauguration of Cyber Help Desks, Women's Help Desks, and the launch of the Durga Squad, a dedicated initiative aimed at enhancing women's safety and tackling cybercrime.
Addressing police personnel through video conferencing, Adhikari described cybercrime as a "social epidemic", saying fraudsters were increasingly exploiting citizens, particularly during applications for government welfare schemes, by stealing banking details and siphoning off savings within minutes.
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Referring to complaints received during his Janatar Darbar grievance sessions, he said several elderly citizens had lost their lifetime savings to online fraud. Stressing that conventional policing alone was inadequate, he said the state would strengthen its cybercrime infrastructure with modern technology and specialised personnel.
The Chief Minister announced that a senior officer of Additional Director General or Inspector General rank would head the state's cybercrime wing, coordinating with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs while supervising cyber police stations and help desks across West Bengal.
On women's safety, Adhikari said the government had adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards crimes against women. He directed police officers to ensure prompt registration of FIRs and maintain complete transparency in investigations.
He also said the government was working to transform the West Bengal Police into a modern, disciplined force comparable to leading police organisations in the country. Police functioning, he asserted, would remain free from political interference and adhere strictly to the chain of command.
Adhikari also praised the coordinated rescue efforts by Kolkata Police, Fire Services, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the National Disaster Response Force and the Army during the recent Taratala high-rise collapse, where 20 people were rescued alive despite 16 fatalities.
The Chief Minister said the reforms marked a major step towards building a technology-driven, citizen-centric policing system capable of responding swiftly to emerging security challenges.
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