5-commissionerate plan set to be placed before cabinet

The Karnataka government is expected to place its plan to split the Bengaluru City Police Commissionerate into five units before the Cabinet on Thursday, with approval potentially clearing the way for a reorganisation that would create 6,633 new police posts at a projected cost of ₹764.87 crore.

The proposal divides Bengaluru into Central, North, South, East and West commissionerates, each headed by an Inspector General of Police or Deputy Inspector General of Police rank officer. All five would function under a Chief Commissioner of Police of Director General of Police rank.

The plan, prepared by Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh and submitted on August 1, also proposes increasing the number of Deputy Commissioners of Police from 18 to 28.

The restructuring follows the expansion of Bengaluru’s administrative boundaries and the creation of the Greater Bengaluru Authority, whose civic administration is divided into five corporations. The police proposal seeks a corresponding territorial arrangement to improve coordination between policing and civic administration.

Chief Minister D K Shivakumar announced the five commissionerate structure during his Independence Day address on August 15. He said the reorganisation would strengthen law and order and facilitate the creation of police stations where they are needed.

“Under the proposed arrangement, the Central commissionerate would cover the core city. North would include areas such as Yeshwanthpur and Yelahanka, while East would cover the existing East division and Whitefield,” said an officer in the know.

“South would encompass the South, Southeast and Electronic City areas, along with Anekal, Sarjapur, Suryanagar, Attibele, Bannerghatta and Jigani. West would cover West, Kengeri and Peenya, according to the proposed jurisdictions,” the officer added.

Some specialised policing functions would continue to operate across the five territorial jurisdictions. The Central Crime Branch and cybercrime units would remain under the citywide crime structure, while traffic would retain a citywide command. Each territorial commissionerate would have its own traffic DCP.

The structure has drawn reservations from sections of the police establishment, particularly over the possibility of jurisdictional disputes and coordination problems between neighbouring commissionerates during law and order operations. There have also been questions over the proposed Chief Commissioner, who would supervise the five territorial commissioners.

The government had considered smaller divisions before settling on the five unit model. A three commissionerate arrangement covering North, South and Central Bengaluru was among the models discussed. Some retired police officers have favoured a two commissionerate structure.