Bug Sweeping Services in Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh is the second largest state in the country by area, and outside two cities it is policed entirely through district superintendents. That shapes what happens after a sweep more than anything else about the state. The work itself is unchanged: radio-frequency analysis for anything transmitting, a non-linear junction detector for electronics left switched off, optical and thermal checks, and a hands-on inspection of fittings, voids and furniture.

Two commissionerates, and both cover their whole district

Only Bhopal and Indore are policed as commissionerates in Madhya Pradesh, both since December 2021. Jabalpur, Gwalior and Ujjain have been proposed over the years and none has been added as at September 2026, so everywhere outside those two cities your complaint goes to a district superintendent.

Where those two differ from most commissionerate cities elsewhere is that neither leaves a rural force behind. The published jurisdiction of each covers the whole district, villages included: Bhopal's commissionerate accounts for the district's six hundred and fourteen villages and Indore's for its six hundred and seventy six. So unlike Maharashtra, where seven cities have a separate rural superintendent you might need instead, in Madhya Pradesh there is no rural counterpart to fall back on in either city.

One naming point that trips people up in legal writing: there is no Madhya Pradesh Police Act. The force operates under the central Police Act of 1861, so anyone citing a state police statute at you is mistaken.

The state has fifty five districts, the most recent additions being Mauganj, Maihar and Pandhurna in 2023. Treat that number as current rather than permanent: a state reorganisation commission appointed in 2024 is reviewing district, tehsil and block boundaries, and the exercise is still running. Nagda has been announced as a district more than once and has never actually been notified.

Cyber matters run through the State Cyber Police headquarters in Bhopal, with a cyber cell under the superintendent in each district. Sources disagree on how many cyber police stations exist and the state publishes no list, so we give no number. One practical warning: the state's own cyber crime subdomain no longer resolves, so if a link fails, use the national cyber crime portal or 1930 rather than assuming the service has closed.

181 is not a police number here, and the e-FIR lapses in three days

This is the correction that matters most in Madhya Pradesh, because it is the reverse of several neighbouring states. The women's helpline published by Madhya Pradesh Police is 1090. The 181 number, which is a women's line in Maharashtra and elsewhere, is the Chief Minister's helpline here, a grievance service for complaints about government departments, running set hours rather than around the clock. Dialling it in an emergency wastes time you do not have. For emergencies both 112 and 100 are answered, since the state moved to 112 while continuing to carry 100 on its own helpline page. Cyber financial fraud goes to 1930 and children to 1098.

On the e-FIR, the state police describe it as an optional facility rather than a registered FIR. Its categories are broader than most write-ups suggest, because those describe the scope at launch: the live portal lists theft, vehicle theft, online financial fraud, and crimes against women and children. What has not changed is the ending. You are expected at the police station within about three days, and the portal states plainly that the e-FIR is rejected if you do not appear. Treat it as a way of starting a record rather than a way of avoiding the station, and keep the sweep documentation for the visit itself.

No statewide camera rule, and the guest record duty runs two months at a time

Madhya Pradesh has no statewide requirement for cameras in hotels, lodges, paying guest accommodation or hostels. We looked for a statute, a statutory rule, a gazette notification and a police headquarters standing order, and found none of them. The state's homestay and bed and breakfast schemes are voluntary tourism registrations and their official pages carry no camera requirement, despite aggregator sites claiming otherwise.

What does exist, and what you can actually hold an operator to, works differently from most states. The enforceable duty comes from city prohibitory orders made by the police commissioners in Bhopal and Indore, requiring hotels, lodges, dharamshalas, resorts, guest houses and hostels to keep full guest records and share them with the local police station, and requiring landlords to report tenants and paying guests within set periods. Breach is a punishable offence, and Indore filed cases against establishments in a drive in November 2025. The catch is that these orders run for about two months at a time and are reissued, so there is always a current one and it is worth asking which. Neither order requires cameras.

The state police citizen portal also runs a tenant and paying guest information service, through which landlords submit occupant details to the local police station online. That is an administrative service rather than a statutory duty, but it means the record you might want to ask about often exists.

We found no advisory from Madhya Pradesh Police specifically about hidden or spy cameras. Their cyber security pages cover stalking, card cloning, fake job offers and account security, with nothing on covert recording devices.

Cities in Madhya Pradesh covered in detail

These have a page of their own, with the local jurisdiction detail and the areas covered.

Districts and towns across Madhya Pradesh

Sweeps are arranged across the state, not only in the cities listed above. If your town is not named here it does not mean we cannot reach it, so please ask.

Questions about Madhya Pradesh