Andhra Police to launch SMS Service to tackle terror

HYDERABAD: In a new anti-terror awareness measure, Hyderabad Police in association with mobile service providers will soon be sending text messages
to people asking them to be alert about dangerous objects or suspicious individuals in and around their surroundings.
Both GSM and CDMA mobile service providers have agreed, in principle, to send free SMS to its subscribers on behalf of the police, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.
The police have worked out the content for 15 such messages, the officer said. For example, one such message would be: "Found an abandoned vehicle in a busy place for quite some time? There may be dangerous objects in it. Break your silence. Contact nearest policeman or dial 100 or send an SMS to 9010100100."
The messages will ask citizens to be careful about their surroundings and to keep a watch on persons moving suspiciously, abandoned bags and unattended vehicles parked in busy areas for long hours among others, he said.
The Hyderabad City Police Commissioner B Prasada Rao will soon hold a meeting with mobile service providers in the city on this initiative which will be launched shortly, Detective Department DCP R S Praveen Kumar said.
"SMS has tremendous reach. With people now having cell phones even when they are on the move, you don't need a TV or a radio to receive an anti-terror alert," he said.
As part of the initiative, one SMS every week or fortnight will be sent free of cost to cell phone users by their respective mobile service providers asking them to maintain vigil against possible terror acts, he said.