Summarising
the efficacy of Abhayam mobile application, a distress call application, here
on Tuesday, Home Minister N. Chinarajappa said that help was just a click away
at the time of distress.
Launching the
mobile application, he said that it was open to public for free and can be
downloaded from Google into any smart phone that operates on Android platform.
The application was designed by Bangalore-based IT company Logic Shore. Giving
a demonstration of the product, company director Ajay Hari said the application
facilitates the reportage of crime within seconds and help women in distress.
Once the application is downloaded, all one has to do is to press a
pre-determined panic button and the call gets activated within 10 seconds. Even
if one cannot speak, the caller will be tracked with the help of GPRS and Crowd
Sourcing technology, said Evani Mannur, another director of the company.
As soon as the
button is pressed, the central command station, which is located at the Police
Commissionerate, will receive the signal in seconds and a message to the
nearest police station or police beat or patrol will be sent for immediate
action.
The location
of the caller can be accurately tracked to five-meter radius and the
application was open to all districts in the State, said Mr. Hari. Apart from
the distress call, the application has other options such as I-Report wherein
one can take a picture, video or send a voice alert on a crime or emergency;
Travel Tracker wherein one can alert his or her known persons about the
specific location just in case one may feel threatened; and Safe Places option
which gives a list of safe places such as police stations and hospitals to the
person on the move.
Post launch of
the app, DGP J.V. Ramudu said that the application should not be misused.
According to a senior police officer, this system will immensely benefit women,
especially the working women and a bane to eve-teasers, chain-snatchers,
house-breakers and rapists, or for that matter any offender.
