Police launch free night pick-and-drop for women in Ludhiana
Dial 112, 1091 or 7837018555 between 10pm-6am to avail facility
The Ludhiana police have launched a free night pick-and-drop facility for women .
The move follows the recent horrific gangrape and murder of a 26-year-old veterinary doctor on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Police commissioner Rakesh Agrawal said, “Any woman not able to get a vehicle to get home between 10pm and 6am can call the police helpline numbers — 112, 1091 and 7837018555 — to request the facility which will be available on all days. A police control room (PCR) van or a station house officer (SHO) vehicle will come and drop her safely to her destination free-of-cost.”
The police chief said the scheme was already in the pipeline.
The Ludhiana Police has 28 SHO vehicles, 110 PC motorcycles and 10 vans.
“We have two dedicated 24x7 helpline numbers, 1091 and 7837018555, for women’s help,” said the police chief, adding that the city has four women officials posted as SHOs, besides other senior women officials.
“Assistant commissioner of police (ACP, crime against women) Prabhjot Kaur, posted at the women cell near Domoria Bridge, is the nodal officer for any issues regarding the safety of women in Ludhiana,” Agrawal said.
The ACP said the helpline numbers will also be used for counselling of school students and reporting any abuse.
Safety measures in place
Giving details of the measures to ensure the safety of women in Ludhiana, Agrawal said they had started many programmes.
“Besides the 24x7 helplines, we have also launched Shakti app through which women can reach out for police help at the click of a button. The app has an SOS features under which at the click of a button, one’s 10 contacts are updated about their location with SOS help message and the location is immediately shared with the nearest PCR,” said Agrawal.
“The app, available for download from the Play Store, was installed in the phones of 3,500 women is the past two months,” said Agrawal, adding that patrolling by women police personnel on PCR scooters was also restarted.
“We have also organised many seminars in schools and colleges regarding self-defence tactics for girls and given tips to prevent eve-teasing. Our aim is to cover at least one school or college per day,” Agrawal said.
