The Gujarat home department has ordered an urgent cleanup of the state police's online citizen portal after a newspaper report exposed a list of bizarre and outdated profession categories, including 'beggar', 'vagabond', 'mercenary', and 'juggler'. The controversial entries were removed from the website by Tuesday afternoon following the intervention of senior officials.
Immediate Action After Report
A day after The Times of India highlighted the issue, authorities at the highest level directed the removal of these inappropriate occupational listings. A senior officer from the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), the body responsible for maintaining the portal, confirmed the swift action. The officer stated that an intimation was received from higher-ups to delete the professions as they were unlikely to be used by citizens accessing the website's services. The official added that the presence of such categories made the police force appear ridiculous, prompting the immediate cleanup.
Technical Team Reprimanded
Sources revealed that senior police officers reprimanded the technical team in charge of the portal early on Tuesday. The team was warned to prevent such errors from recurring. An SCRB official said the technical staff were instructed to follow proper verification protocols before uploading any data and to avoid relying on old, unverified templates. The portal, which was set up in 2018 and became fully operational by 2022, had seemingly carried the same profession list since its inception, featuring categories not recognized under Indian law.
Outdated and Inappropriate Entries
The TOI report detailed how citizens attempting to file an e-FIR for theft, seek verification for domestic help or tenants, or use any online complaint service were met with a drop-down menu of occupations that seemed to belong to a different era. Officials believe the list was a haphazard compilation copied from multiple old sources, including state and foreign templates, some of which were supplied by private vendors during the portal's development phase. The removal of categories like 'relative/friend' underscores the lack of scrutiny in the initial data upload process. The incident has spotlighted the need for regular audits of government digital services to ensure they remain relevant and respectful.
