Nagpur police commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil has announced a city-specific proactive policing plan focused on digital fraud, women’s safety, drug networks, beat policing, traffic enforcement and expanded use of surveillance technology. The plan follows a three-month study of the city’s urban conditions and is intended to move policing closer to neighbourhoods and local problems.
Speaking at a meet-the-press interaction at Patrakar Club, Nangre Patil said Nagpur required an urban policing model rather than an approach designed for rural areas. “Proactivity is the crux. Police at the doorstep, police at every nook and corner, is the mantra,” he said.
The commissioner identified digital fraud targeting senior citizens and women’s safety as two major concerns. He said awareness and education would be important parts of the response. Police also plan to intensify action against drug networks, particularly in slum pockets where youths are being drawn into drug-related activity.
Preventive detention powers under the PIT-NDPS Act have been delegated to unit in-charges, allowing peddlers, syndicate members and racketeers to be detained for up to a year, according to the commissioner. He said organised rackets would be pursued systematically and that records of criminal activity were being prepared. Each deputy commissioner of police has also been tasked with externing at least 100 alleged habitual offenders a year, along with using Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities legislation where required.
The policing plan will rely heavily on local beat systems. Each area will have a beat treated as an additional branch of the police station, with one officer and 10 personnel assigned to it. The objective is to settle smaller disputes at the nearest chowki rather than requiring residents to travel to a main police station. About 130 police vehicles will receive mobile tracking devices, while beat marshals will operate around the clock.
Three-layered patrolling, involving motorcycles, four-wheelers and foot patrols, is also planned. Foot patrols will be used inside slums and narrow lanes where larger vehicles cannot operate. Crime mapping will determine where and when police conduct area sweeps, while QR-code scans on mobile phones will record patrol visits. One special branch officer has been assigned to each police station to work with local intelligence cells on overt and covert information.
The commissioner said every police station would provide a 90-point dataset covering crime types, preventive action, criminal profiles, locations and calls received and attended. The data is intended to identify the strengths and weaknesses of individual police stations. The force has about 8,500 police personnel and 1,000 ministerial staff, with around 20% of its energy expected to be directed towards major issues and 80% towards general policing.
Traffic management and CCTV coverage are also central to the plan. Nagpur currently has about 2,800 CCTV cameras, of which roughly 600 are non-functional on average. Around Rs 10 crore has been sanctioned to restore the defunct cameras, while another 1,500 cameras are planned. The commissioner said 28 nagar palikas on the city’s periphery were spending about Rs 150 crore on CCTV systems. About 170 integrated traffic management points with CCTV are also planned.
Nagpur has approximately 600 traffic police personnel and 400 home guards. Nangre Patil has suggested that the municipal corporation induct Maharashtra Security Force personnel to support civic enforcement. He said discussions were under way with the municipal commissioner on a hawker policy and parking zones. The police and civic body are expected to implement the arrangements jointly once they are finalised, with the stated aim of keeping footpaths and carriageways clear without removing hawkers from their livelihoods.
The commissioner also said lawful protests would be permitted after obtaining the required permission, but impromptu demonstrations and taking the law into one’s own hands would not be allowed. He flagged the use of 16- to 18-year-olds by criminal gangs and said serious offences involving minors should be treated under the applicable legal provisions. The next stage of the plan involves implementing the beat system, restoring non-functional cameras and using station-level data to guide policing decisions.
