Outer, northwest Delhi top in distress calls to 181

Since it was made functional on December 31 last year, Delhi government’s helpline ‘181’ has received more than 43,000 calls till February 14.

Since it was made functional on December 31 last year, Delhi government’s helpline ‘181’ has received more than 43,000 calls till February 14.

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And an analysis of these distress calls has revealed that most calls come from outer and northwest Delhi and are being made mostly by working women and students. Also, most of these calls were made between 4pm and 9pm “The fact that most of these calls came from outer and northwest Delhi is significant. We will be sharing this data with Delhi police so they can increase patrolling in these areas and also step up security in such areas,” said a senior Delhi government official.

“Most women who called us did so with their mobile phone when they were returning from work and were alone,” added the official.

Officials further said that most of these calls were regarding stalking. Counsellors also pointed out that most calls were received from outer Delhi, which constitutes 30 per cent of Delhi’s area but has the deployment of only 6% police officials with 55 patrolling vans.

Some of these areas are: Rohini, Pitampura, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Narela, Shalimar Bagh, Jahangirpuri, Model Town and Mangolpuri among others.

“Police presence has to increase significantly in these areas to deter such criminals. Most callers said they hardly see any beat constable in their area. Moreover, they are still uncomfortable about approaching the police and would rather call the helpline. We have referred such cases to the police for further action,” added the official.

According to the officials, in many cases, police were able to arrest a few offenders after getting a complaint from the helpline. The quantum of complaints has increased to such an extent that the helpline now has three lines working round-the-clock.