Social media message on new helpline for women is fake, say police

The city police — who have been actively promoting the Suraksha app and upgrading patrolling services after a woman in Hyderabad was raped and murdered — have a new problem on their hands.

A message claiming to be a women’s helpline, purportedly launched by the Bengaluru police, has been circulating on social media. “This is a scam. We have not launched a new helpline for women,” said a senior police official.

The message, which uses the official police logo, said that the dedicated helpline was created for women who take taxis and auto-rickshaws to commute. It gives a mobile number and asks people to send an SMS with the registration number of the vehicle they are in.

It also promises to send a message of acknowledgement and track down the movement of the vehicles using GPRS, and requests people to share it with women they know.

Taking strong exception to this, city police commissioner Bhaskar Rao clarified that the number does not belong to the police and has requested people not to believe or share it. “Stringent action will be taken against those spreading fake messages and creating confusion,” he said.

The cyber crime police are trying to track down the perpetrators of the message. “The number given is no longer in use. We are tracking them down to bring them to book,” a senior police officer said.