Nirbhaya Trust launches 'I feel safe' app in Hyderabad

Nirbhaya Jyoti Trust, set in remembrance of the Delhi December 16, 2012 gang rape victim, here on Tuesday launched the "I feel safe" mobile application aimed at ensuring women's safety.

Her parents Badrinath Singh and Asha Devi launched the app, a personal safety application for smartphone users developed in association with Mobile Standards Alliance of India, at an event held at the Indian School of Business here.

The app places an automatic call to the national emergency number 100 while the location of the potential victim is tracked every 30 seconds and made available to their emergency contacts, emergency call centre team, who then reach out to provide support.

The app, which works without GPRS and Internet, instantly adds a virtual panic button. Mobile phone owners can simply press the "Safety Ka Power Button" five times to activate an alarm.

The free download app works across India on all mobile networks and sends near real-time updates about the location of the mobile user.

The victim's parents were in city to attend first international conference on "Exploring Modern Science & Technology Solutions for Humanity, Education and Rights" organised by The International STEM Society for Human Rights (ISSHR).

They told reporters that even if one girl is rescued through "I feel safe" app, their purpose will be served.

"If the present day technology was available, my daughter would have been saved. My daughter tried to make a call through her mobile, but it was snatched away by the culprits," said Asha Devi.

They said Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a longest-ever speech from Red Fort on Independence Day but didn't utter a single word about women's safety. "It pained us," said Badrinath Singh.

Rajiv Uttamchandani, founder of ISSHR, said the incident which happened in 2012 gave him sleepless nights. "I wanted to do something. Being an astrophysist, I want to search solutions for human rights violation through STEM -- which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics."

--IANS

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