Women in any part of the state can now seek the help of women`s panel officials if they find themselves in trouble by sending an SMS to the dedicated number "537252". All such messages would be passed on to the State Police Monitoring Room, where the sender`s number would be sorted out and assistance provided with the help of respective local police stations, officials said.
Launching the service here on Tuesday evening, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said it would help instil self-confidence in women. "Providing space for women to lodge complaints is more important than the number of cases attended," he said. The service comes into effect at a time when Kerala`s image has been dented by a number of cases of atrocities and sexual crimes on women.
The idea was mooted a year back by the chairperson of Kerala Women`s Commission Retired Justice D Sreedevi. The system was developed with technical support of National Informatics Centre after a series of tests of its technological feasibility and social acceptance.