Digital arrest is one of the most dreaded threats to citizens: President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday (October 27, 2025) said that “digital arrests” had become one of the most dreaded threats faced by citizens today, even as technology continued to reshape the landscape of policing.

Addressing a group of probationers of the Indian Police Service (IPS) at Rashtrapati Bhavan, she said that about 10 years ago, the expression “digital arrest” would have been impossible to understand.

“Today, it is one of the most dreaded threats to citizens,” the President said, referring to the growing trend of fraudsters impersonating law enforcement officers, and extorting money by threatening victims with arrest or the freezing of bank accounts.

The President emphasised that India’s growing digital space, including one of the world’s largest Artificial Intelligence (AI) user bases, poses new challenges for law enforcement. “You have to be several steps ahead in adopting new technologies, including AI, compared to those who use these technologies with wrongful intent,” she told the young officers.

President Murmu also said that “colonial powers” had in their own countries developed policing systems based on the participation of citizens, but in countries such as India, policing was based on “fear, distrust and distancing”. Uphold integrity and compassion in public service, she urged the IPS probationers.

“People, especially the marginalised, should look at the police as a source of support and not as a fearsome entity,” she said, adding that true authority stems from “personal and professional integrity”.

Calling for a “future-ready police force” to help build Viksit Bharat, Ms. Murmu said effective policing was as vital as economic incentives to sustain growth. “Law and order is a necessary pre-condition for attracting investment in any State or region,” she said.

Highlighting that the current batch of IPS officers included 62 women officers — the highest ever — the President said their achievements proved that “excellence is gender neutral”.