Police launch Setu pilot at Mehdipatnam

Hyderabad: In the past, illiterate individuals would need to visit the police station, explain the injustice they faced to a constable, and have it written down on paper. Even educated people — unable to draft a proper application — would approach reception staff to write out their complaints. Now, simply speaking to the ‘Setu’ kiosk ensures that the details of the injustice are recorded exactly as stated.

Standing in front of the kiosk and narrating the grievance is enough. The video is accepted as a formal complaint and routed immediately to the concerned Station House Officer (SHO).

Justice will be delivered to the complainant. The process functions as a mission. There is no need to wait for hours at the police station; the SHO responds to the complaint lodged via ‘Setu’, regardless of whether they are physically present at the station.

The pilot project was recently launched at the Mehdipatnam police station. City police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar initiated the use of technology to reduce work-related stress and enable quicker resolution of issues. Residents within Mehdipatnam jurisdiction can now lodge complaints at the ‘Setu’ kiosk located at the station for immediate redressal.

The AI-powered smart kiosk aims to instantly identify issues faced by complainants at the reception and guide them toward speedy resolution. ‘Setu’ acts as a technological shield for the complainant. Once the video is recorded and saved, a digital acknowledgement slip is generated.

The interaction is also logged by the computer at the reception desk. Details such as name, father’s name, locality, district, and nature of the issue—including the ‘who, what, and why’—along with time and date, are captured in the system. Both audio and video recordings are available. Complaints can be lodged in Telugu, English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi and Urdu. As soon as a complaint is received, a message is sent to the concerned officials, enabling the SHO to act immediately.

Mehdipatnam inspector S. Mallesh told Deccan Chronicle that the kiosk receives about 20 complaints a day. “People can lodge complaints in their native languages. The public is gradually adapting to this digital method. Plans are underway to integrate Setu with CCTV cameras,” he said.