Nearly five years ago, the Pune police was much lauded for introducing the voice logger facility to its control room, enabling them to record calls that gave them tip-offs or information about ongoing cases. A Right To Information (RTI) query launched by a city activist has, however, revealed that the facility has been out of operation for the past two years.

Calls recorded by the system formed an important part of evidence, and also helped the police nab criminals based on the information given by callers. It was especially useful in sensitive or controversial cases such as terror attacks, murders or attacks on women.