Reports of violence against women are becoming increasingly common in newspapers. In response to the sharp rise in such incidents, the government has introduced a shortcode service alongside the police hotline to combat violence. A significant new development is that any case of violence against women reported through the 'Help App' will now be automatically registered as a First Information Report (FIR).
On Saturday (March 15), the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner, Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali announced this initiative in an official message from DMP's Media and Public Relations Department.
The statement confirmed that any report of violence against women submitted through the app would immediately be considered an FIR.
Earlier, the government had decided to introduce a shortcode service in addition to the police hotline to help prevent violence against women. This initiative is part of a broader effort to digitize police services, with the introduction of the shortcode being one of the four key measures.
On Tuesday (March 11), the Press Wing of the Interim Government's Chief Adviser released a statement outlining these efforts.
According to Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, the Chief Adviser's Special Assistant for Postal, Telecommunications, and Information Technology Affairs, the government is developing a Police Command App to enhance operational efficiency and secure internal communication within Bangladesh Police.
Additionally, modernization efforts are underway, including the implementation of Incident Tracking Software for complaint management, a shortcode service for reporting violence against women, online General Diary (GD) filing, and the ability to file cases or FIRs online or via shortcode.
