MillenniumPost
Delhi

Helpline numbers invalid, cops blame printing error

Seems like Delhi police are making promises that they can’t keep. The 24x7 helpline numbers provided to make complaints against autorickshaws are found to be ‘invalid’.

On Friday, an advertisement by Delhi police has been published in many leading newspapers that read, ‘Harassed by autorickshaw drivers? Contact us for taking action against them’.  But  when the helpline numbers 1095 and 2584444 were dialled, they were found to be  invalid.

This reporter has saved the helpline numbers in her contact list. In the evening when three consecutive auto drivers at ITO refused to drop her at Okhla, the reporter tried the helpline numbers. Both the numbers were invalid.

‘What is the use of giving big advertisements in the newspapers? Are we fools?’ asked Reeta Sharma, another passenger who wanted to lodge a complaint against an autorickshaw driver.

‘Only one digit (4) from the landline number was missing in the helpline number. The moment I saw the advertisement I noticed the mistake,’ a senior police official requesting anonymity said.

However, when Millennium Post contacted Neeraj Kumar, commissioner of Delhi police, he was unaware of the issue. ‘I will check the helpline numbers and will solve the problem soon,’ Kumar said.

‘In the evening I was at East of Kailash, C-Block market and I wanted to go to my office. The first auto denied to go, the other auto-rickshaw demanded a lot of money and when I asked him to go by metre, he just took off. I dialled the helpline number but couldn’t get through,’ Ritika (name changed), a journalist by profession said.

Rajan Bhagat, spokesperson of Delhi police, said, ‘I admit the mistake and no comments on the non-functioning helpline numbers.’

When Satyendra Garg, Joint commissioner (traffic) was contacted at 7.40 pm on Friday, he remained unavailable for comments. This reporter dropped him a message telling him about the blunder.

At 8.36 pm, this reporter received a message from Garg that read ‘call’. When the reporter contacted him at 8.40 pm, Garg said, ‘It was a printing error and the advertising agency has admitted that they have missed a digit in the landline number.’

However, when he was informed about 1095 being invalid as well, he said 011  should be added before the number. Although this reporter had tried adding 011 before 8.30 pm, she was not able to connect. But once the complaint was placed with Garg, it worked.
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