Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In a stark reflection of growing public dissatisfaction with local policing, more than 15,000 complaints have been directly registered at the Police Headquarters (PHQ) in the past year, bypassing district police units that allegedly failed to address people’s grievances.
On average, 43 people are arriving at the PHQ daily with unresolved complaints. These people, frustrated by the inaction at the district level, are turning to senior police officials at the state headquarters for justice. Officials say the PHQ is actively examining each complaint, initiating resolutions and instructing districts concerned to take appropriate action.
Data from 2024 shows that a staggering 15,776 complaints were submitted at the PHQ's complaint branch after being ignored by local police officers. Of these, directions for further action were sent to district police units in 12,255 cases.
Bhopal tops list
Bhopal emerged as the district with the highest number of ignored complaints, with 1,517 cases—spanning both urban and rural police jurisdictions—reaching the PHQ. Gwalior followed with 1,153 complaints, of which 1,055 have been resolved at the PHQ level. Indore ranked third with 1,196 complaints, and the PHQ forwarded 989 of these to district authorities for necessary steps.
Other districts also featured prominently in the tally of unresolved cases: Sagar sent in 618 complaints, Rewa 455, Satna 486 and Jabalpur 497.
