Himachal Pradesh is set to start a new initiative to provide prompt police intervention to the people of the state in case of need. Under the initiative,perhaps the first in the region,citizens can send an SMS to the police to seek help. The service is expected to become operational soon. I have asked a team of senior officers in the rank of IGPs to work out modalities for this service and make it operational within the shortest possible time, said D S Manhas,Director General of Police (Vigilance),who took over the additional charge to head the police organisation a week ago. Officials said the idea was to make the district police officers,including SPs and SHOs,accountable to their jobs and monitor their efficiency in terms of response to situations after getting complaints or information. There will be dedicated mobile numbers where SMSes can be sent to give any information to the police,or where the intervention of the police is required in case of emergencies like accidents,serious crime incidents or even cases of eve-teasing or routine law and order related issues. According to sources,Inspector General of Police (IGP) S R Mardi,who was recently given charge of the police wireless services,mooted the idea of starting the SMS service and the DGP agreed to implement it. A list of the SMSes received could later be retrieved or printed and submitted to the DGP within 24 hours. The DGP can also monitor how many cases the police have acted on and how much time they took to respond, said a senior IPS officer. There is technology available now to facilitate better functioning of the police. We will make its best use, said DGP Manhas.
