West Bengal has launched the Dial 112 emergency response service, promising round-the-clock police assistance through a single emergency number and adding 450 vehicles to the state police fleet. The service was inaugurated on Mahalaya, with one car and one motorcycle allocated to each police station, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin – Kolkata.
The rollout is intended to provide police assistance during emergencies through a 24-hour response system. The expansion also includes the appointment of 1,500 drivers, while the state government said more than 11,000 new constables are expected to be appointed before the Puja period.
Police Minister Shuvendu Adhikari said the new system followed a review of police operations across the state over the past five months. He said he had visited police control rooms, the Barrackpore Commissionerate and other locations while assessing the functioning of the police and emergency-response network.
According to the minister, the state is also working to establish a live traffic system across West Bengal. He said raincoats had been provided to police personnel through an initiative involving HITECH and the New Town Kolkata Development Authority, although the report did not provide details of the broader procurement or implementation framework for Dial 112.
The addition of vehicles and drivers is aimed at strengthening the frontline capacity of police stations. The source report said each police station would receive one car and one motorcycle. It did not specify the total number of police stations covered, the expected response-time standard, the technology platform supporting Dial 112, or whether calls would be integrated with fire and medical emergency services.
Adhikari said the state currently had 155 police personnel per lakh population, compared with 200 per lakh in Uttar Pradesh, and claimed that the figure had earlier been 105 per lakh in West Bengal. These figures were cited by the minister in his address and were not independently verified in the source report.
The minister also said more than 11,000 constables would be appointed after a recruitment process that he described as having been delayed by an Other Backward Classes-related legal issue. He said the law had been amended in the state Assembly and that the selected list had been published by the police recruitment board. Appointment letters are expected to be handed over to the selected constables next Friday, according to the report.
The launch comes alongside a broader government emphasis on police capacity, staffing and enforcement. Adhikari referred to past incidents involving attacks on police personnel and police facilities, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said incidents such as those at RG Kar and Baruipur should not recur. The report also said the government warned against the trade in prohibited cough syrups.
The immediate operational test for Dial 112 will be whether the new number, vehicles, personnel and control-room systems translate into faster and more reliable emergency assistance across urban and non-urban areas. The next stated milestone is the distribution of appointment letters to the new constables, scheduled for the following Friday.
