CMP resumes campaign to stop stalking

5 May 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent, Chittagong

The Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) yesterday resumed its special campaign to protect schoolgirls from the menace of stalking. On the occasion, a motivational rally was held at Dr Khastagir Girls' High School. Speaking as the chief guest, Deputy Commissioner (North) Banaj Kumar Majumder urged the girl students to send SMS messages to the police if they face harassment on their way to school or receive any disturbing phone calls. He also assured them of all-out support and said that the identity of the victims would not be disclosed. He said a student should write only her name and a number '373' in the SMS message of her cell phone and send it to senior CMP officials such as Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the respective police station, Assistant Commissioner (AC) or Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the zone if she wants help from the police. The police would contact the victim within one week after getting the message and take necessary steps, he added. Later, the police handed over posters and leaflets containing information about how to send messages and the cellphone numbers of the senior police officials to Headmistress Hasmat Jahan of the school. The CMP first launched the campaign in the girls' schools on March 29 last year. Guardians and students said girl students nowadays receive more disturbing phone calls. Tasfia Sultana, a class ten student of the school, said most of the girls do not want to share this problem with their guardians or teachers, fearing that the girls themselves might be blamed for it. Meanwhile, Detective Branch (DB) of the CMP launched special drives near the girls' schools and colleges and shopping malls on Sunday to check stalking.