Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will Director General of Police S R Mardi while launching ‘ Shakti App’ and Gudiya helpline on Friday. (Express Photo)
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday launched 24X7 ‘Gudiya’ helpline, named after 16-year old rape and murder victim of Kotkhai, for a quick police response cases of crimes against women. Chief Minister also launched ‘Shakti Button’- a mobile app linked to police control rooms for ensuring the safety of women in the state. Any women at the time of an untoward incident can press the red button on the mobile app and an alert will immediately reach the police response team. Also, the Chief Minister also launched Hoshiyar Singh help line on toll free number 1090.
Designed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) Himachal Pradesh, with several innovative features, the app will automatically become functional when with a shake-up of a mobile phone in case of girl/woman having a scuffle. “It will send GPRS location through an SMS and phone’s audio-visual application will also become functional within 20 seconds on its own,” said Director General of Police S R Mardi, who explained the details to the Chief Minister.
Even if the phone drops down, the message would be sent to the nearest police control room within 20 seconds. CM Thakur said that it was an initiative for the protection of women of the state and to control crime against women. It was unfortunate that the image of the police was damaged in the infamous Gudiya Rape and murder case, and we want to ensure that such incidents don’t happen in Himachal Pradesh again. Hoshiyar Help line would be monitored by Chief Minister’s office.