Benglauru: A fleet of pink patrol vehicles to attend to the distress calls from women and an exclusive police mobile phone distress application have been introduced in Bengaluru as part of an effort to improve the safety and security of women in the city.

The pink patrol cars called the Pink Hoysalas and the Suraksha mobile phone app were unveiled by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday.

“There has been no respite from crimes against women and children. We promised that we will give top priority to fighting such crimes. As part of this initiative, 51 pink patrol vehicles are being introduced and the Suraksha app has been launched,” he said. The patrol cars will be headed by women police officers and will supplement the existing 221 such vehicles in the city.

The vehicles will be positioned near schools, colleges, offices, temples, shopping malls, theatres and sensitive areas.

The app has been developed by the Bengaluru city police IT team and can be downloaded on Android and iOS phones. It aims at providing police services to women in distress in the least possible time in coordination with the pink patrol vehicles and the police control room. The Suraksha app registers the numbers of two persons the user wants to inform in emergencies.