VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday directed officials to lay emphasis on promoting awareness about the Disha App in a big way and ensure that every woman in the State downloads the same. He held a high-level review meeting on women’s safety at his camp office with Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita, Director General of Police D Gautam Sawang, Intelligence Chief KVRN Reddy and other officials and discussed steps to be taken for creating awareness about the Disha App among girls and women in a big way.
The review meeting assumes significance as it was held in the wake of sexual assault on a nurse at the Seethanagaram Pushkar Ghat in Tadepalli last week. He wanted the officials to reach out to every household and see that the App is downloaded by all girls and women from Google Play. “Volunteers in villages and ward secretariats and women police should be trained in using the App first and through them, a campaign should be taken up to make girls and women aware of its usefulness in emergency circumstances,’’ he said.
Upon getting an SOS through the App, Disha and local police stations should respond immediately to ensure the safety of the caller. All the police stations should be equipped with adequate number of patrol vehicles for quick response, the Chief Minister said. Meanwhile, the police intensified the probe into the sexual assault on the nurse and started gathering evidence against the two suspects, who were picked up for questioning.
Police sources said that the mobile phones of the nurse and her fiance, which were snatched and sold away by the duo, were kept switched off, making it difficult for the investigating officers to track the signals. A major breakthrough can be achieved in the sexual assault case if the mobile signals are tracked, sources added.