Thane police helpline needs help

Mumbai: In case of any emergency, the customary helpline number which usually comes to our mind for seeking police assistance is undoubtedly “100”. However, in several parts of Mira-Bhayandar this emergency number of the Thane (rural) police is itself in need of help owing to technical issues.

When social activist Krishna Gupta tried calling the number and he was shocked to hear an automated reply ‘the dialled number has been temporarily disconnected’. The matter was then brought to the notice of superintendent of police (SP) Dr. Shivaji Rathod and additional SP Sanjay Patil, who said that they would check and do the needful. Two years ago the Thane (rural) police had faced a similar issue, when cross signals led to confusion and non-connectivity, at that time the problem was limited to a couple of mobile service providers. Any distress call on the police helpline number 100 are supposed to be directed to the respective police stations or to the control room which would find the nearest police van and attend the caller. The Thane (rural) police had launched the “Dial 100” project in 2012.

A high-tech control room with geographic information and global positioning system-enabled services was set-up to integrate all existing police stations under the jurisdiction of the Mira Road division.