Beware: 668 FIRs registered in 5 months based on complaints sent to @hydcitypolice

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad City Police have registered a total of 668 FIRs based on complaints received through their official Twitter/X handle (@hydcitypolice) from December 2024 to April 2025.

On average, the police receive about 3 to 4 complaints daily on their X handle.

This was revealed in response to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by Shashi Kumar, a resident of Barkatpura, seeking details on how social media grievances are handled by the police.

Month-wise FIR registration statistics

The month-wise breakdown of FIRs registered stands as follows: 131 in December 2024, 118 in January 2025, 109 in February, 149 in March and 161 in April 2025.

Social media interaction is active and organised, says police

According to the official reply from the Hyderabad City Police’s Special Monitoring Unit (SMU), complaints received via social media platforms, including X and Facebook, are actively monitored and categorised into different types such as cybercrime, traffic violations, law and order disturbances, and crimes against women.

These complaints are then forwarded to the concerned police stations for further action in accordance with Section 173(1)(ii) of the BNSS (Bureau of National Security and Surveillance).

Manual processing without software support

A dedicated team currently manages the social media grievance redressal process, comprising one sub-inspector and three police constables who manually handle complaints, as no software system is presently employed to track or manage these grievances internally.

Are police accountable for complaints on social media?

The police clarified that there are no official guidelines or standard operating procedures (SOPs) determining which social media complaints to respond to or ignore. They emphasised that no complaints are deliberately ignored and all are taken seriously.

The police department confirmed compliance with the mandatory three-day period to verify and escalate complaints received via social media. However, no disciplinary action has been reported against officials for failing to respond to social media grievances. Requests for performance metrics and accountability audits were denied, citing confidentiality under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.

How to raise police complaints on social media?

Citizens can escalate complaints via the Hyderabad City Police WhatsApp number 9490616555 or by contacting any police officer if their grievances on social media are ignored or not acted upon.

This disclosure highlights the growing role of social media in public grievance redressal and the Hyderabad City Police’s efforts to integrate digital communication channels within their law enforcement framework.