Delhi Police women's helpline receives 2,000 calls in 45 days

 “Sir, some men are following me”, “my husband thrashed me again, please save me” – these are some of 2,000 calls that Delhi Police special commissioner Sudhir Yadav has dealt with since a special helpline was activated in the wake of the Dec 16, 2012, gang rape of a 23-yar-old physiotherapist.

Lieutenant governor Tejendra Khanna appointed Yadav the nodal officer to deal with women-related complaints in Delhi and his mobile number – 9818099012 – was activated Dec 25, 2012.

Being the first ever helpline under the direct monitoring of a senior police officer, it means quick results.

“The need for a senior officer monitoring complaints arose because though we already have two helplines – 1091 and 1096 – that together received close to 25,000 complaints last year, we found that the redressal mechanism was not adequate,” a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

This apart, a 181 helpline started by the Delhi government Dec 31, 2012, has received 40,000 calls since then, but most of them were trial calls to check whether the number was functional, an officer said.

“The frequency of the calls was very high in the first two weeks of January, but it has decreased now,” Kulanand Joshi, additional Secretary to chief minister Sheila Dikshit and in-charge of the helpline said.

As for Yadav, his phone has not stopped ringing since it was activated.

While Yadav himself takes some of the calls, he has a designated team that monitors all calls.

All calls are also recorded so that if the joint commissioner of police (Traffic) needs to be brought into the loop, this can be immediately done.

Of the 2,000 calls received in the last 45 days, most related to being stalked, getting obscene calls or facing domestic violence.

“I got at least 300 calls daily last month. We maintain a record of each and every call and ensure proper follow up,” Yadav said.

Yadav interacts with several women’s NGOs on the last Friday of every month to take stock of the situation at the ground level.

Delhi Police had organised a self-defence training camp in Oct, 2012, in west Delhi’s Nanakpura area. 

Around 100 young working women from the lower income groups attended.

The women were taught judo, karate, kendo, sumo, aikido, shorinji, kempo
and naginata by a visiting Japanese martial arts delegation.