The Disha Mobile App, launched three years ago, has created a record with more than 1.17 crore registrations in the State. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the App, aimed at safety and security of women.
Police, women protection secretaries (mahila police) and volunteers attached to village and ward sachivalayams, who launched Disha special drives, registered about 1.17 crore women, including students from Inter to PG level, employees and housewives.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who recently reviewed the status of the cases registered under the Disha Mobile App with Home Minister Taneti Vanitha, Director General of Police (DGP) K.V. Rajendranath Reddy and Disha Special Officer G. Pala Raju has directed them to focus on prevention of crime and conviction of the accused.
The DGP said that about 1.17 crore women registered with the Disha Mobile App creating history. Police were receiving about 250 calls a day, and the response time in urban areas was five minutes and in rural areas 14 minutes. The Chief Minister instructed the officers to take the assistance of the mahila police to decrease the response time in villages.
“In the last one year (from June, 2022, to May 31, 2023), 87 accused were convicted and awarded various punishments including death penalty in three cases, life imprisonment in 35 cases, 20-year jail term in 20 cases and rigorous imprisonment for 10 years in 10 cases, which is the highest in the country,” the DGP said.
Mr. Pala Raju told The Hindu that 2,300 women who alerted the police on the Disha App were rescued. As many as 7,070 cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 have been registered in the last three years, and chargesheets were filed in about 98.03% of the cases.
As part of geo-tagging of sexual offenders in the State, 2,17,467 sexual offenders were mapped, 1,531 cyber bullying sheets were opened and 2,134 sheets were opened on sexual offenders, Mr. Rajendranath Reddy said.
The government has set up 26 Disha Police Stations and 21 Special Courts, arranged CCTVs for evidence-based policing, the Disha Special Officer said.
The Parliamentary Committee for Women Safety, National Commission for Women and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who reviewed the safety of women in Andhra Pradesh recently, appreciated the government on the Disha Mobile App and the measures being taken for safety of girls, the Home Minister said.
