A police team rushed to a remote village in Ramakuppam mandal and shifted a housewife battling for life, after a suicide attempt, to the Madanapalle government hospital in their own vehicle, thus saving her life. Three child marriages were stopped when the nuptial knots were about to be tied to the girls at a temple at Moghili village of Bangarupalem mandal. Three missing children were traced at Yadamarri near Chittoor and handed over to their parents. All this happened in July alone, thanks to the increased awareness of Dial 100 facility.
Superintendent of Police Ch. Venkata Appala Naidu on July 1 launched a special drive to promote effective and extensive use of Dial 100 facility by the public. The police personnel at the field level and in the mandal headquarters educated people about the facility during the Spandana programme. The move yielded positive results with 389 calls made in one month.
There was a wrong notion among people that Dial 100 had to be used only during emergencies such as road accidents, physical attacks and public disturbances. “Our awareness campaign gave us fruitful results in no time,” said the SP.
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Quick response mechanism
A mechanism had been developed for the Dial 100 facility, which would enable the special teams to respond to cases within five minutes in urban areas and 18 minutes in rural areas.
Swiftly responding to the Dial 100 calls, the police in the four sub-divisions of Madanapalle, Palamaner, Chittoor and Puttur had registered 32 murder cases, 186 physical attack cases and 115 cases of crime against women, apart from cases of gambling, road accidents and other issues. “Through the Dial 100 calls in July, the police could save the lives of 41 persons who were injured in road accidents,” Mr. Appala Naidu said.
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The SP said that the police personnel at the field level were told to create awareness among the public about the importance of Dial 100 facility. “The crime rate can be effectively tackled through Dial 100, and this will also work as a bridge between the police and public,” he said.
The public could play a vital role in informing the police about the movements of strangers and suspicious elements in their neighbourhood through Dial 100 and police WhatsApp number 9440900005, he said.