Bengaluru Police May Be Split into Multiple Commissionerates

The Karnataka government is considering a proposal to divide the Bengaluru City Police (BCP) Commissionerate into two or three separate city police commissionerates, according to Home Minister Priyank Kharge. The move comes less than a year after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was split into five city corporations.

Kharge confirmed the development, stating, "There was an earlier proposal to split the commissionerate, which was not acted upon. It again came up for discussion during the formation of GBA last year. We are studying the pros and cons of the issue and after a holistic assessment, we will put up a proposal before the chief minister. No decision has been taken yet."

The BCP Commissionerate currently oversees 186 police stations, including 115 law and order stations and 53 traffic stations. As the city expands horizontally, urbanised areas have been continuously added. Over the last two years, at least six new stations were added, increasing law and order divisions from eight to eleven and traffic divisions from two to four.

Additionally, at least 15 law and order police stations in adjoining Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru South district units remain under rural police despite being largely urbanised. Some officials argue that incorporating these stations would make the commissionerate unwieldy. One senior police official noted, "Bengaluru Police Commissioner has a population of over 1.5 crore and an area much larger than the Greater Bengaluru Authority to oversee. He has nearly 30 IPS officers reporting to him. This is extremely unwieldy and no Commissioner is able to provide adequate focus to all areas."

Another official suggested that the core city should remain as Bengaluru City Police, while suburbs — including urbanised stations from Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru South — should be reorganised into two more city commissionerates.

However, opponents argue that a unified command is essential for effective policing. One senior officer explained, "Even if we take the model of five corporations in the city, there is a pan-city body called the GBA which has a chief commissioner and several special commissioners to integrate the functions of the five corporations. Bengaluru City Police also needs such a unified command." He proposed having five Joint Commissioners for each of the five corporations, each overseeing 2-3 divisions, with an Additional Commissioner for Law and Order above them, and a Commissioner at the top, preserving unified command.

Currently, Bengaluru is the only major Indian city with a single police commissionerate. Other cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Chennai have multiple commissionerates. The government is studying the proposal and will make a decision after a holistic assessment.