Childline 1098 to be merged with emergency number 112, Centre tells States

The only dedicated helpline for children, Childline 1098, running successfully for the past 26 years as a partnership between civil society and the government, will be integrated with national emergency number 112, the Union government informed States and Union Territories. “The Ministry has decided to integrate the Child Helpline with Emergency Response Support System with telephonic short code 112 and 112 India App and their linkage with District Child Protection Units with the help of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing,” according to a letter of September 12 from Manoj Kumar Prabhat,​ Under Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development. Possibility of drop in reporting of offences However, civil society is up in arms because Childline 1098 has been a very effective and successful project, and is meant exclusively for children, unlike 112, which deals with emergencies related to police matters, health and women’s safety. “I would recommend continuation of Childline 1098 as a collaboration between NGOs and the State,” says Meeran Borwankar, who interacted with Childline as Joint Commissioner of Police Mumbai, and as Commissioner of Police, Pune, and retired as the Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development.