Bhubaneswar, 11 September (H.S.): Citizens in Odisha will no longer need to visit police stations or concerned offices for several routine police services, with the Odisha Police launching a new digital initiative to make public services simpler, faster, transparent and citizen-centric.

Under the initiative, people can now access 14 police-citizen services from their homes through the ‘Aam Saathi’ WhatsApp bot. Director General of Police Vinaytosh Mishra launched the service at the DGP Camp Office in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

The ‘Aam Saathi’ Unified WhatsApp Bot has been developed through collaboration between the Odisha Government’s Centre for Modernizing Government Initiative (CMGI), State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), Odisha Police and Meta India. The latest integration brings 14 police-citizen services available under the Home Department’s unified platform within the reach of citizens through WhatsApp.

The SCRB and Odisha Police have completed the required technical integration for providing these services. The initiative is part of the state government’s broader citizen-centric digital governance programme aimed at making public services more accessible.

Through ‘Aam Saathi’, citizens can apply for a character certificate, senior citizen registration, employee verification, reports related to lost property or documents, no-objection certificates for loudspeaker permissions, tenant and paying guest verification, lost property registration, and information and registration related to missing persons.

The platform will also facilitate complaint registration, verification of employees and domestic help, permissions for events or demonstrations, permissions for protests and strikes, obtaining copies of FIRs, and copies of final forms relating to road accidents, stolen vehicles and theft cases.

To access the service, citizens need to save the ‘Aam Saathi’ WhatsApp number, 9437292000, on their mobile phones and send a ‘Hi’ message. After selecting their preferred language, they can choose the required police service and submit the necessary information and documents through WhatsApp.

Once the application is submitted, it will be forwarded to the concerned police office or authority, and the applicant will receive a reference or application number. The status of the application can subsequently be tracked through WhatsApp. For services offering digital document delivery, approved documents will also be made available through the platform.

The Odisha Police said the integration of 14 police services with ‘Aam Saathi’ would further strengthen digital and citizen-centric policing in the state. The initiative seeks to leverage technology to bring police services closer to citizens and reduce the need for physical visits to government offices.

At the launch programme, SCRB Director Avinash Kumar delivered the welcome address. Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Sanjay Kumar, Police Commissioner Dr S. Devadatta Singh, Inspector General of Police, STF, Himanshu Lal, IG (Intelligence) Satyabrata Bhoi, IG (Crime Branch) Dr Sarthak Sarangi and CMGI Executive Director Surendra Kumar Meena were among those present.

The programme concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by SP (Computer) Amulya Dhar.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda