The app, called 1090, is an extension of a women's helpline launched in 2012 by the UP government
A new app allows women in Uttar Pradesh to send an SOS to their families and the police when they are in trouble.
The app, called 1090, is an extension of a women's helpline launched two years ago by the state government.
Women can open the app and press a button to set off an instant alarm that reaches three officers from the nearest police station and gives them a location. A siren will keep playing on an officer's phone until the message is read. So it is the responsibility of the police to act quickly.
"All the data is centrally recorded so you can't escape from your responsibility. We are creating evidence against the policemen," said Navneet Sikera, Inspector General of Women's Cell, UP Police.
Many women hoped the response to the app alert would be quicker than a phone-call to '100', the police helpline number.
"No other state has done so much - so many girls were being harassed earlier, now that isn't happening," said Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav at the launch of the app on Wednesday.
The police said the app was inspired by the success of the 1090 helpline for women which, since its launch in 2012, has been swamped with nearly three lakh harassment complaints. This is in stark contrast to 3,000 cases registered in police stations. The women's cell of the police claims that of the 2.88 lakh complaints, 2.82 lakh have been solved.
Most of the complaints were related to harassment over the phone, followed by cases of domestic violence cases. While 52 per cent of the complainants were students, 36 per cent were housewives and the rest were working women.