In the first 11 months of 2020, as many as 88,000 complaints were received on Haryana Police’s women helpline number 1091.

Giving this information on Wednesday, additional Director General of Police (ADGP), crime against women, Kala Ramchandran said while all complaints received on the women helpline were looked into and disposed, 2802 out of 88,000 complaints received on 1091 helpline were converted into first information reports (FIRs) between January and November 2020.

She said 1091 is accessible from anywhere in the country and women police officials have been deputed exclusively in each district to attend to such complaints on priority.

Ramchandran said Durga Shakti App, the software application offering panic button for women in distress, has also gained more than 51,000 new users in Haryana during the same period taking the total count to more than 2.17 lakhs.

Durga Shakti App, is available on both Google and Apple play store. On the complaints received through this app, Police has lodged 21 FIRs, taken preventive action in 33 matters and resolved the rest of more than 1100 matters amicably.

It was also observed that even users of neighboring states like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Union Territory Chandigarh have also installed the mobile app to ensure safety in case of any emergency or panic situation, the ADGP added.

She said earlier, many women hesitated to report crimes against them. Now with the ease of reporting crime against women, police are addressing women’s safety concerns through new initiatives.

“We are constantly working to enhance the women safety and make them more aware about their rights and to seek police assistance wherever necessary. In 2021, the outreach of Durga Shakti App and other women’s safety measures would be further increased,” Ramchandran added.

As a result of coordinated and continuous efforts, Haryana Police has secured 6th place across the country under the Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences (ITSSO) ranking system introduced by Union home ministry, the ADGP said.

“We are performing very well on ITSSO dashboard, which is an online module available to law enforcement agencies at all levels that allow the state police to undertake realtime monitoring and management for completion of investigation in rape cases within two months. Haryana Police is currently at sixth position in India with a compliance rate of 54.2 per cent”, she added.