In the aftermath of the brutal murder of a doctor in Kolkata, a post has been going viral on social media that claims police are providing free travel facilities to women at night across the country. However, this claim is entirely misleading. No such travel scheme has been launched by any agency in India.
While it's true that the number was associated with a free drop-home service, this service was exclusively for women in Ludhiana, India in 2019. A similar scheme was allegedly also launched by the Nagpur Police in 2019 too.
According to a fact check by Boom Live, a claim with the same helpline numbers (1091 and 7837018555) went viral in 2019 as well, and claimed that Kolkata Police had introduced a ‘free ride’ scheme for women travelling late at night. But the Kolkata police has dismissed the claim and clarified that no such specific scheme had been launched by their department.
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The Karnataka Police Department, Hyderabad Police and even Bengaluru Police have also warned locals about this fraudulent scheme circulating online that falsely claims the police are offering free transportation for women between 10 pm and 6 am. They suggested women to call only 112 incase of any emergency.
We've seen #misleading information spreading on social media about a “free ride service” being offered by @hydcitypolice,This is not correct, Always verify the facts with trusted sources before sharing. Spreading false information can cause unnecessary panic & confusion. pic.twitter.com/RXqdTiZK9h
— Hyderabad City Police (@hydcitypolice) August 22, 2024