Rajnath Singh launches women safety mobile app 'Himmat'

New Delhi, Jan 1: 'Himmat', a mobile application of Delhi Police that will allow women to send a distress call to Police Control Room and their relatives in case of any emergency, was launched on Thursday by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The app will basically cater to employed women who have smartphones and travel alone even late in the night. Singh also distributed pepper spray to women and awarded girls who had successfully completed Delhi Police self-defence programme.

He lauded Delhi Police's efforts to use technology for better policing. Explaining the work of the app, Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi said that after downloading the app, a new user has to register with the Delhi Police website by sharing their name, mobile number and that of a minimum of two relatives/friends.

Once the User registers, the user will get a SMS on mobile number given at the time of registration with a download link and registration key. User has to enter this key in the registration window in the application. This is a one-time process.

"In case of an emergency, the user can send an alert by shaking her phone or by pressing the power button/soft button. As soon as the distress button is pressed, it will trigger a 30-second audio and video recording on the phone which will be relayed to the Police Control Room, and the victim will get a call back from the PCR," said Bassi.

An SMS alert will also be sent to minimum of five friends and relatives of the user and a status will be posted on his Facebook and Twitter timeline which will be connected to the App.

"All the details of the victim, including her location, time will be there in the SMS which will also be transmitted simultaneously by the Police Control Room to the Police Patrol cars in the area and the local Station House Officer (SHO) through the Delhi Police Cyber Highway," said Bassi. The police however cautioned people not to misuse the App.

"Himmat application and service are to be used only when there is a threat to Life and Limb. Generating false SOS alerts/ alarms, intentionally/ unintentionally, will lead to cancellation of the registration after 3 such (False SOS alerts) incidents. The user must report in an email/to support number, if in case they want to re-register and activate the facility. Support number is 011-23490378," said Bassi.

"This app is currently available on Android platform, since a survey has revealed that most working women use Android based phone. In due course this facility will be extended to other operating systems as well," said a senior Delhi Police official.

PTI