Free home drop service: Amid many test calls, one woman seeks help

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 7

Even as the police have implemented the free home drop service during night in the district for helpless women in both city and rural areas, only one woman sought police help for dropping her home. Nodal officers, supervising the service for the safety and security of women, said for the past three days, they had been receiving only test calls.

ADCP D Sudarvizhi, who is monitoring the smooth implementation of the free service in city areas, said they had been carrying out the service since December 4, and mostly calls were made to verify the availability of service. For the past three days, only one genuine call was received by city police teams.

“A women in her 20s called on the helpline number on Friday, seeking police help for dropping her home at midnight. The help call was received at 1 am from the railway station where the girl was standing alone and looking for conveyance. However, when she approached the police, a PCR team immediately reached the station and dropped the girl at her residence in the Basti Peer area,” said Sudarvizhi.

“Following the Chief Minister’s announcement that women who are stranded outside between 9 pm to 6 am should be provided free home drop service, directions in this regard were immediately followed since December 4 and four teams were deployed at the ground level to make apt arrangements in all areas covered under the rural police. However, no call for help was received so far. Only a woman near the Pathankot bypass dialled the helpline number around 10 pm to avail the service. Whereas when police personnel reached the spot, she said she was verifying whether the service was implemented or not,” claimed Ravinder Pal Singh, SP (Headquarters), Rural Police.

While 14 teams of Women Armed Special Protection Squads (WASPS) are deployed by the city police, that is available on call between 9 pm to 6 am to ensure safety and security of women in the city, rural police officials have stationed different teams consisting of men and women police personnel in various areas.