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| - Fact Check: Call 7837018555 to get free drop home? No, this service is ONLY for Ludhiana women
India Today Fact Check found that the viral helpline number 7837018555 is only available in Ludhiana and is not a country-wide service. 1091 is a Central Social Welfare Board number for women in distress.
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India Today Fact Check
1091 is a helpline service for women in any kind of trouble and operates in many states. 7837018555 provides a pick-and-drop facility to women at night but only in Ludhiana.
A message making rounds online claims that if women get stuck without any kind of transport at night, they can call a police helpline number and receive a drop home free of cost.
The viral message reads, “The police have launched a free travel scheme where any woman who is alone and cannot find a vehicle to go home between 10 pm and 6 am can contact the police helpline numbers (1091 and 7837018555) and request a vehicle. They will work 24x7 hours. The control room vehicle or the nearest PCR vehicle/SHO vehicle will take her safely to her destination. This will be done free of cost. Spread this message to everyone you know. Send the number to your wife, daughters, sisters, mothers, friends, and all the women you know. Ask them to save it. All men please share with all the women you know.” Its archive can be seen here.
India Today Fact Check found that the viral helpline number 7837018555 is only available in Ludhiana. On the other hand, 1091 is a Central Social Welfare Board number under the National Commission for Women. It’s a helpline number for women in distress.
THE STORY BEHIND 7837018555
We found a December 1, 2019 report in the Hindustan Times, according to which, this helpline was started in Ludhiana after the gang rape and murder of a doctor in Hyderabad. Reportedly, the Ludhiana police introduced a free night pick-up and drop service for women and there were two helpline numbers, 1091 and 7837018555, available from 10 pm to 6 am for women in need of assistance. Both numbers stated in the news report were the same as the viral claim.
We sent the viral message to a police officer who handles this helpline, who told us that the number 7837018555 was started by Ludhiana Police in 2019 and is still active. The officer added this was not a national helpline number but only for the women in Ludhiana. However, when we called this number, no one answered.
WHO RUNS THE 1091 HELPLINE?
It is a nationwide helpline for women by the Central Social Welfare Board under the National Commission for Women. Any woman in distress can seek help by dialling this number. We called this number, and a woman police officer from Delhi picked up the phone.
She told us that if any woman is unable to find a vehicle at night and feels unsafe, she can seek help through this number. India Today Fact Check could not independently confirm if this number provides the service in every Indian state.
BLANK MESSAGES AND MISSED CALLS WON'T WORK
According to the viral message, in an emergency, women can get help by just sending a blank message or giving a missed call to 1091 and 7837018555. However, the police officers handling these numbers told India Today Fact Check that this is untrue. Women will have to make a call to get help.
OTHER HELPLINES
Several states have helplines for women travelling at night, for example, women in Uttar Pradesh can call 112 in such a situation. A similar helpline was started by the Nagpur police in 2019, through which women could reach their homes safely at night. Aaj Tak Nagpur correspondent Yogesh Pande told us this facility is still available.
In many states, women can ask for help at night by dialling the 112 helpline. According to a News18 report, since the start of this helpline, 1,781 women from 11 districts of Chhattisgarh have benefited from it.
While many states have the facility to drop women home at night, some state police departments called the viral message misleading. For example, the Karnataka Police called this message fake and wrote that in an emergency, one should dial 112.
Similarly, the Hyderabad Police termed the message fake and Kolkata police also refuted this message in 2019.
It is thus clear that the 7837018555 number helps women to reach home at night but it is available only in Ludhiana.
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You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
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