Imagine you are a tourist visiting the Jagannath temple town of Puri. Your phone goes missing in the crowd. In the past, you would have had to locate the nearest police station, join a queue, navigate unfamiliar bureaucracy, and hope someone at the desk spoke your language.

Today, you scan a small black-and-white square on a poster, send a single word on WhatsApp, and the help begins.

That single word is a simple “Hi”.

On 2 April 2026, Puri Police launched what they are calling the “Puri Police Assistant”, a WhatsApp-based chatbot accessible round the clock.

Citizens and tourists can access the 24×7 service by scanning a QR code or sending a “Hi” message to 91 8763199400 via WhatsApp. The chatbot provides services including filing e-complaints, reporting lost mobile phones, giving feedback, locating nearby police stations, providing parking information, and offering tourist assistance.

The project is supported by PNB ONE and implemented with technological support from Rezler Systems.

SP Pratya Singh, who led the initiative alongside Central IG Satyajit Nayak, put it plainly: “Puri Police is always committed to the service and safety of the people. This WhatsApp chatbot service will take our services closer, and citizens can get immediate assistance.”

The ambition behind that statement is larger than it sounds.

The trust deficit that no FIR can fix

Across India, policing has long wrestled with a fundamental problem that is as human as it is institutional: people do not trust the police enough to reach out to them. According to the Status of Policing in India Report, 36% of citizens surveyed expressed limited or no trust in police institutions, with scepticism arising from recurring concerns about transparency, accountability, and accessibility.

A more recent analysis noted........

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