Tejas Navale
Pune, May 5, 2025: In a significant push towards strengthening grassroots policing and enhancing public trust, the Pune Rural Police have rolled out an ambitious initiative titled ‘One Village One Police’ on the occasion of Maharashtra Day. Conceptualised by Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh, the initiative aims to foster better coordination between the police force and residents of rural areas, with a special focus on crime prevention and community outreach.
Under the scheme, each village in the Pune rural belt will have a designated police official, with the intent to facilitate seamless communication, quicker responses to grievances, and tighter monitoring of law and order. The scheme is expected to play a pivotal role in curbing serious crimes at the village level, especially those related to women and children.
As per official figures, the initiative will be rolled out across 1,574 villages and hamlets (wadis) under 33 police stations spread across 13 talukas of Pune district. Superintendent Deshmukh informed during a press briefing that 1,292 police patils and 1,524 police personnel will be directly involved in the execution of the programme.
To streamline monitoring and ensure accountability, the police department has launched a dedicated digital platform—‘Safe Pune Rural’—an app designed to log activities of officials and record daily happenings in villages. “All police patils and concerned officials have been registered on the app. Patrol updates, photographs from village visits, and reports of any law and order issues must be uploaded regularly. This real-time data will help us stay updated on ground-level realities,” said Deshmukh.
Officials said the scheme is not only expected to improve police visibility in rural regions but also build trust through consistent presence and proactive engagement. In particular, the mechanism is expected to lead to faster detection and reporting of crimes, especially those involving vulnerable groups such as women and children.
