Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The city police faced a piquant situation after misplacing keys of newly launched Dial-112 vehicles and had to spend thousands on duplicates before the originals were recovered.
On August 14, chief minister Mohan Yadav flagged off 63 new First Response Vehicles (FRVs) under the Dial-112 emergency service. The vehicles parked at the police commissioner’s office were scheduled to hit the roads from August 31, following pilot testing. However, when the trial run was about to begin, officials discovered that keys of 39 vehicles were missing.
Police drivers and staff searched extensively but failed to find them. Senior officers ordered immediate arrangements of duplicate keys to avoid delay in deployment. The duplicates cost around Rs 2,000 each. In total, about Rs 78,000 was spent.
However, once the duplicates were ready, the original keys were also found. A police official claimed the confusion occurred due to mix-up and exchange of keys, which were later recovered. Meanwhile, police commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra said he was not aware of the incident.
Madhya Pradesh officially adopted ‘112’ as its new integrated emergency response number, on August 15.
With the rollout of Dial-112, citizens are expected to access a wide range of emergency services including, police, ambulance, fire, women’s helpline, cybercrime, highway accident response, disaster relief, and child protection -- through a single number.
