Bhubaneswar, January 1: S. Dev Datta Singh, the Police Commissioner of the Twin City, released the annual report of the Commissionerate Police on Wednesday, with a strong focus on crime control across Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
Singh emphasized the importance of active citizen involvement in crime prevention, calling for greater cooperation between the police and the public to maintain safety in both cities. The Commissioner also outlined key plans for 2025, particularly addressing traffic management and reducing accident rates.
Commending the collective efforts of the police force, Singh noted their success in maintaining law and order and tackling various criminal activities. However, the report also reflected some concerning trends. In 2023, the Bhubaneswar Urban Police District (UPD) registered 11,975 cases, which increased to 14,416 in 2024. Notably, the number of murder cases rose from 52 in 2023 to 66 in 2024, while incidents of loot and theft decreased.
Similarly, in Cuttack UPD, murder cases increased from 78 in 2023 to 89 in 2024. However, other crimes such as loot, theft, and riots showed a decline, and traffic-related incidents also saw a decrease.
A significant achievement highlighted in the report was the success of the Property Offence Protection and Detection (POPD) team. Singh lauded their efforts, which led to a notable reduction in property offenses in Bhubaneswar. In total, the police made 1,125 arrests in property offense cases, confiscating valuable assets, including 5.55 kg of gold, over 15 kg of silver, 779 mobile phones, and ₹61.73 lahks in cash.
The report also underscored the growing concern of cybercrime, with 7,263 cases recorded in 2024. Cybercriminals defrauded victims of over ₹82 crore. The police successfully froze bank accounts containing ₹23.6 crore and managed to recover ₹2.5 crore, returning it to the victims of online fraud. Singh called for continued efforts to combat cybercrime, emphasizing the importance of public awareness and urging citizens to report such incidents through the toll-free number 1930.
In his concluding remarks, the Commissioner urged the residents of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to engage in community policing initiatives, stressing that collective efforts are crucial to ensuring the safety and well-being of both cities as they progress.
