Hyderabad police is now an SMS away

Hyderabad, Jan 6 (IANS) Caught in a life threatening situation, facing terror, affected by or witness to a crime or stranded in a traffic jam in Hyderabad? Simply send an SMS to the police and help will reach you shortly.

The city police has launched the new facility, which helps citizens to quickly access the police in case of any emergency.

Hyderabad police commissioner B. Prasada Rao has asked citizens to send an SMS to 9010100100 but use the facility judiciously, only if life and property is under immediate threat and when they were affected by a crime or accident or witness it and see no policemen around.

People can also send an SMS if they see suspicious people and objects and anticipate a grave and immediate danger to life and property, if they come across a criminal who is wanted by the police, if they are caught in serious traffic jam for a long time and if there is harassment in a public place.

If a citizen is having a complaint on traffic, he will have to type t, followed by a space and the brief complaint. It will be c for crime related issues, w for harassment of women and te for complaints on terror.

'As soon as the computer receives an SMS, it will be forwarded to the officer concerned in the field immediately by the operator from the command and control centre through a facility called ACT NOW,' said a statement from the police commissioner's office here Tuesday.

This facility is created only as a supplement to dial 100. Police said this was introduced as people were finding it difficult to access 100.

However, the police have cautioned citizens against sending hoax messages, warning those sending hoax messages that they would be tracked down and prosecuted.