Police control room grapples with insane calls, some even from NIMHANS patients in Bengaluru

While malicious calls have always been a concern for the Bengaluru City Police’s (BCP) Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) – Namma 112, some of these calls have started coming even from mentally disturbed inmates of NIMHANS.

According to control room staff, many people with mental health issues call the control room because “they want someone to listen to them.”

“Patients at NIMHANS manage to find a phone and call us. Some of them are educated and speak very good English. Initially, we do not realise that they are patients and they are disturbed. In such cases, we ask them whether they are patients or caregivers and ask them to hand over the phone to the caregiver. We then ask the caregiver to ensure that patients do not make such calls,” said a staff member.

Between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, the control room, which was outsourced, received 786 malicious calls. “These calls may not be from 786 different people. There are repeat calls,” a supervisor said.

Unable to block callers permanently

Although these callers are added to the fraudulent call list, they cannot be blocked permanently as Namma 112 is a fraudulent call service. Some fraudulent calls even last up to 11-12 minutes, staff members said.

Another category of callers who talk for a long time are elderly people.

“Sometimes they call us because they don’t know how to deal with a problem or because they just want to talk. Some also complain about loud music playing in a nearby commercial establishment and ask us to cut off the power supply to the establishment,” said another staff member.

“They tell us that they have heart problems or some comorbidity, and that they have to take pills and go to sleep. We have to explain to them that we cannot cut off the electricity or ask them to stop the music because the law allows them to play music until 10 p.m.,” she added.

When asked how they handle such calls, Kshama Mishra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Command Centre, said, “Sometimes, these people who make nuisance calls are not in the right frame of mind. What we can do is train our employees. We train them constantly to be professional and know how to respond to nuisance calls. We cannot do much for those who call as the improvement in behaviour should come from them.”

Complaints about missing shoes

Apart from these calls, the control room also receives calls regarding trivial complaints.

“People sometimes call us and say that their branded shoes have been stolen from their homes and ask that the police be sent to collect the CCTV footage and get their shoes back. Sometimes, these shoes are worth Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000. So, we send the police to the spot to ensure that there is no such theft in future,” said a staff member.

Reprimanding children

Another staff member said they even get calls from parents asking them to talk to their children when they refuse to go to school. “They say that when we talk to the children and tell them we are police, they get scared and go to school.”

Some call to complain about lack of police assistance, traffic jams or corruption. “Suspended police officers also call to complain about their superiors,” said a male member of the team.

Call to the public

Staff expect callers to follow certain etiquette rules. One explained: “We are here to respond to emergencies. When you make a reckless call, you are taking up valuable time that we may not be able to respond to a real emergency. So please only call us when you have a real emergency.”