628 police stations in India have no phone connection

63 police stations have no vehicle, 285 police stations have no wireless set

The government on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that 63 police stations in the country do not have any vehicles at their disposal, 628 police stations do not have a landline telephone connection, and 285 police stations function without a wireless set or mobile phone.

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said there are 17,535 police stations across the country. Of Jharkhand's 564 police stations, 47 have no vehicles, 211 have no telephone connection, and 31 are without a mobile phone or wireless set. Of Uttar Pradesh's 1,783 police stations, 175 still need a wireless set or a mobile phone, and 35 of Punjab's 431 police stations are similarly underequipped, according to the government's data.

The government said of the 17,535 police stations, CCTVs were installed in 14,834 police stations. There are 1.72 lakh computers in police stations across the country, but they are unevenly distributed. For example, Delhi's 225 police stations have 9,472 computers, Assam's 329 police stations have only 266 computers, and Uttar Pradesh's 1,783 police stations have 9,637 computers. Only 1,533 of UP's police stations have CCTVs.

Karnataka fares much better than the national average, with nearly all its police stations installed with CCTVs (1,052 of the total 1,055). Karnataka's police stations have a total of 9,840 computers. All its police stations have landlines and wireless sets/mobile phones, according to the Bureau of Police Research and Development data.

The Centre releases 'assistance to states and UTs for the modernisation of police' each year. In 2019-20, it released Rs 781.12 crore against the revised estimate of Rs 791.3. However, in 2020-21 and 2021-22, it released Rs 103.25 crore and Rs 158.57 crore, respectively. Its 2022-23 Budget estimate of Rs 620.45 crore was revised to Rs 150.52 crore, and it has until now released Rs 103.58 crore.

The MHA said it has sought suggestions from all stakeholders, including chief ministers, judges of the Supreme Court and high courts, and MPs for the comprehensive amendments to criminal laws. It said in Lok Sabha that a committee had been constituted under the chairpersonship of the vice-chancellor of National Law University, Delhi, to suggest reforms in the IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act.