Delay in emergency response akin to abetting crime: Malerkotla SSP

Malerkotla Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gagan Ajit Singh said any delay in emergency response after getting a call on the 112 helpline was same as aiding criminals.

He was addressing the gathering at the Dr Zakir Hussain Stadium here after flagging off a fleet of eight high-tech emergency response vehicles for the Dial 112 network of the district.

The personnel deployed on the response vehicles were advised to react promptly to emergency calls.

“You must keep in mind that every minute wasted in responding after receiving information is same as helping the criminals and depriving victims of their right to prompt resolution,” the SSP said while addressing the in-charges of the new vehicles.

Claiming all the in-charges had been updated about the guidelines, and equipment and facilities available in the vehicles, Singh said they had been asked to ensure victims get the required assistance within six minutes of making a 112 call.

He said the vehicles were designed to reduce response time to less than six minutes, and had GPS tracking, dash cameras, mobile data terminals and 5G-enabled dual SIM smart-phones for uninterrupted connectivity.

The state police have upgraded their existing Dial 112 fleet with 508 new high-tech vehicles. Now, a total of 764 vehicles are deployed across the state.