Chhatrapur: Following the direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik the Ganjam police launched three helpline numbers to report cases of domestic violence in the district, which have been on the rise during the coronavirus lockdown.
Ganjam police said complaints can be made to the number- 06811-263360, 260999, 263795, which will be available 24 hours.
“In the wake of reports of an increase in domestic violence during the lockdown, CM directed all the districts to take immediate steps to prevent them. Subsequently, there helpline numbers were launched to make it easy for women and children to complain,” added Ganjam police.
Notably, Odisha’s COVID-19 spokesperson Subroto Bagchi on the behalf of Chief Minister said that domestic violence cases during this lockdown period will be taken seriously and strong action will be taken on the accused, while addressing a press meet from Geeta Govinda Bhawan in Bhubaneswar.
A DSP of the district police will monitor the complaints given by the victims. In this system, the complainants need not come to police stations for lodging FIRs during the lockdown as the police would reach the complainant upon receiving a call.
The complainants can also register their complaints by calling the police control room.
Ganjam police has taken this step after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked the police to give priority to domestic violence cases during the lockdown.
Similarly, the Odisha government Wednesday launched a WhatsApp number — 7205006039 — for reporting cases of domestic violence during the Covid-19 lockdown.
It was launched by the Women and Child Development Department, which already has a women helpline number 181.
“The WCD Department introduces a WhatsApp number 7205006039 for reporting cases of domestic violence. It already has a Women Helpline Number 181. Under lockdown, experts feel instances of domestic violence may increase and this will be a useful tool for women in distress,” tweeted the department.
PNN