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New Indian Express
08-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Prashant Thakur, Saleem in race to be next DG&IGP in Karnataka
BENGALURU: With incumbent Director General & Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) Alok Mohan scheduled to retire on May 21, speculation about the next police chief has picked up pace in the state's bureaucracy. According to sources, who did not wish to be identified, the office of the Chief Secretary has written to the Accountant General informing him about the superannuation of Mohan on May 21, on 'completion' of his two-year-term for disbursement of retirement benefits. The government has, however, not issued any order regarding his tenure so far, which has created a lot of confusion in the state bureaucracy. As per the Civil List of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers of Karnataka cadre, Mohan was scheduled to retire on April 30 on attaining the age of 60 years. He was appointed in-charge DG&IGP on May 22, 2023 after his predecessor -- then police chief Praveen Sood -- was appointed Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Mohan's appointment as Head of Police Force (HoPF) was confirmed on August 5, 2023. He belongs to the 1987 batch of IPS and is the seniormost IPS officer in Karnataka. The Supreme Court had issued directions on the appointment, and a fixed two-year tenure of the Director General of Police (DGP) in the Prakash Singh judgment of 2006, but the Karnataka Police (KP) Act, amended in 2012, states that the DG&IGP 'so appointed shall have a tenure of not less than two years, subject to superannuation'.
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
DG&IGP Alok Mohan gets two-year tenure with extension till May 21
In a significant move that will have a long-term impact for years to come, the State government has extended the service of Alok Mohan, the incumbent Director General and Inspector General (DG&IGP), Karnataka State Police, till May 21, to ensure he gets a two-year tenure. Otherwise, he would have retired on April 30. This is the first such case in the State where the service of the DG&IGP has been extended to ensure a minimum of two years' tenure. This will become a precedent, and those who follow Alok Mohan as Heads of Police Force (HoPF) in Karnataka, but have less than two years' service left from the date they take charge, will likely benefit from this move. A tenure of a minimum of two years was part of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case that led to police reforms in the country. Following the Supreme Court order, the Government of Karnataka brought an amendment to the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, adding a clause that the DG&IGP shall have a tenure of not less than two years 'subject to superannuation'. Even as this clause stays on the books to this day, the government submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court in 2019-20, where it gave an undertaking that it would implement the Prakash Singh case judgement. After this affidavit, Neelmani N. Raju and Praveen Sood, who headed the State's police force, had over two years' service before retirement. So the question of extension beyond their superannuation did not arise. However, this question came to the fore with Alok Mohan having a less than two-year tenure. Even as Mr. Sood was appointed Director, Central Investigation Bureau (CBI), Mr. Mohan took charge as in-charge DG&IGP of the state police on May 21, 2023. His appointment was confirmed on August 5, 2023. The state government has now considered May 21, when he took charge as in-charge DG&IGP to calculate a two-year tenure. Panel of eligible senior officers sent to UPSC to select next DG&IGP The State government has sent a panel of all senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers of the State cadre who have completed a total of 30 years of service to the Union Public Service Commission, to choose the next DG&IGP on Tuesday. The government expects the selection process to be completed by May 21. The list includes five Director General of Police (DGP) rank officers Prashanth Kumar Thakur, M.A. Saleem, K. Ramachandra Rao, Malini Krishnamurthy, Pronab Mohanty and two Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) rank officers Alok Kumar and B. Dayananda.
New Indian Express
23-04-2025
- New Indian Express
Cybercrime helpline 1930 gets AI upgrade in Karnataka
BENGALURU: In a major step towards enhancing digital crime prevention, the Karnataka State Police have upgraded the cybercrime helpline 1930 with an AI-powered WebBOT, aimed at delivering faster, more efficient responses to victims of online financial fraud. The WebBOT features a self-service complaint registration system activated via SMS, multilingual support and several advanced tools to assist both citizens and investigators. The upgraded helpline was launched by Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) Alok Mohan on Tuesday at the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) premises in Bengaluru. Key features of the WebBOT include a multilingual IVR system supporting Kannada, English and Hindi, and real-time suspect and victim profiling tools to aid fraud pattern detection. It also offers call categorization and prioritization for handling financial, non-financial, status enquiry, and grievance-related complaints more efficiently. A voice-guided interface to assist users during high call volumes, the system allows SMS-based self-registration. Citizens also receive real-time updates on queue positions and complaint statuses via SMS, further improving transparency and user experience. Alok Mohan said, 'Karnataka is leading the way in modernizing public safety infrastructure through technology. In today's digital era, the nature of crime has evolved. This upgraded helpline ensures citizens receive timely and effective assistance. He urged the public to make active use of the 1930 helpline for reporting online fraud.'
Time of India
22-04-2025
- Time of India
Only 9% of Rs 2,400 crore stolen by cybercriminals in Karnataka recovered in 2024
Bengaluru: There has been about a five-fold in the number of cyber crime reported in Karnataka in the last two years, according to data collated from National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Tired of too many ads? go ad free now While 20,894 complaints were registered in 2022, the number rose to 97,929 in 2024. With this, the financial losses incurred also increased from Rs 113 crore in 2022 to a whooping Rs 2,396 crore in 2024. Though the police had put in place recovery measures, including freezing the accounts of fraudsters, the amount recovered was only Rs 226 crore in 2024, just 9 per cent of the total amount lost in fraud. The cyber crime data was shared at the launch of the upgraded cyber crime helpline -1930 at the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) premises on MG Road Tuesday. DG&IGP Alok Mohan said the upgraded system would help citizens receive timely and effective assistance. Key features include a voice-guided WebBOT, a self-service system activated via SMS, allowing citizens to file complaints even when call lines are busy. The multilingual IVR system offers support in Kannada, English, and Hindi, catering to citizens from different linguistic backgrounds. Call categorisation and prioritisation feature ensures calls are categorised based on the type of complaint — financial fraud, non-financial fraud, status inquiries, or cybercrime-related grievances. It will allow complainants to receive real-time updates about their queue position and complaint status via SMS. Suspect and victim profiling assists investigators by collecting actionable intelligence on fraud patterns. The official said with the new system in place, in the first quarter of 2025, through helpline-1930, 38,000 cases were registered. The department managed to block 16 per cent of the amount from reaching the fraudsters.
