1090 replaces police visit for rural women

The women helpline number- 1090 is getting popular in rural areas also as the most convenient way to lodge a complaint without interacting with the police.

Updated on: Mar 12, 2013, 17:09:38 IST

Hindustan Times | By Shruti Tomar, Bhopal

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The women helpline number- 1090 is getting popular in rural areas also as the most convenient way to lodge a complaint without interacting with the police. In rural areas, women and girls prefer dialing 1090 instead of travelling a long distance to file their complaints at the police station.

Women helpline control room in Bhopal.

The helpline incharge and inspector RS Chauhan said the helpline was receiving more complaints from rural areas as women and girls in rural areas avoid visiting a police station, adding that women were also unaware of the working of the helpline. Mostly complaints regarding harassment, dowry demand and domestic violence are made through the helpline.

On March 8, a woman of Kundipura village, Chhindwara district, called 1090 to save a minor hearing and speech impaired girl who was being harassed.

Police personnel said compared to visiting the police station, located 25km away from her village, it was easy for her to call the helpline number. The woman told the helpline’s officers that a 14-year-old hearing and speech impaired girl was being sexually harassed by a clerk of her school for the last several days.

Officers of the women helpline informed the respective police station and the police arrested the accused.

Inspector Chauhan said the 1090 helpline was receiving a number of complaints from different parts of Madhya Pradesh.

He said they were facing a lot of problem in solving the complaints because people did not know the working of the helpline. “People feel that there are teams of the women helpline that are present all over the state. Generally, women of rural areas avoid interacting with police and think action will be taken by the team immediately by not involving the police. They don’t know that after receiving a call, we inform the respective police station and the police takes action against the accused. We try to solve the problem as fast as we can but we have to follow a process too,” the helpline incharge said.

He added that there was a need to spread awareness about the working of the women helpline too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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