Lodging a police complaint will perhaps be easier soon. People in distress can just use the Kavalan SOS App, introduced by the Tamil Nadu Police, instead of rushing to the nearest police station.
A facility to lodge a complaint over the mobile phone, is already available through the TN Police Citizen Services website.
A senior police officer of the Technical Services said, “Shortly we will be introducing the feature to lodge mobile-based complaints via the Kavalan app itself. Various other features, including lodging complaints in written format and voice or video calls are also under consideration. This is an arrangement for the public to approach the police easily, when they need assistance.”
The voice call feature along with live location identification of the caller, is going to be enabled on the Kavalan app. It will become easier for the identification of nearby police stations and forwarding of such complaints to the particular police station is also possible.
The existing Kavalan app, which can be downloaded on Android-based mobiles and tablets, will come in handy at times of distress and emergencies. “The existing features include sending an SOS message if a person is under assault or he/she faces an abduction attempt. Once the alert is triggered, the staff in the control room receives a message and will pass it on to police officers. The police locate the nearest patrol vehicle, police officer or police station to reach out to the victim,” said an officer.
Over 12 lakh people downloaded the Kavalan app and 8 lakh of them are registered users. Now, the police send awareness messages and important notifications about the measures taken by government to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Police have appealed to the subscribers to opt to receive notifications and awareness messages. With one click, a message will reach over 2 lakh people, said the senior police officer.
