UP’s Dial 112 women workers suspend 6-day protest, meet Akhilesh Yadav | Lucknow News

However, the women workers attending the distress calls at ‘Dial 112’ have said they will not be joining work till their demands are met.

On Sunday, a group of the protestors met former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav at his residence and celebrated Diwali with his family.

“There was a lot of pressure on our families to end protest. The policemen also started harassing and misbehaving with us. Hence, we have decided to suspend our protest for a few days. None of us would be joining work till our demands are met,” said a protestor, who refused to be named.

A group of women employees assigned to attend the distress calls at ‘Dial 112’ have been staging a demonstration since November 6, initially outside the office building at Gomti Nagar and then at Eco Garden.

“On Sunday evening, we got a call from Akhilesh Yadav, who had been supporting our cause. We were asked to come to his house. We went to Akhilesh Yadav’s house and met him. Former CM Akhilesh Yadav had promised us that they would raise our issue in the Assembly,” said Harshita Kumari, a protestor.

Earlier, the Lucknow Police had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against five women and 150 unidentified women under sections 147 (rioting), 283 (danger or obstruction), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

They were booked on November 8, a day after the women marched to the Chief Minister’s residence. The police dispersed the protestors, saying orders under section 144 of the CrPC were in place in the state capital.

The helpline desk was set up by the Uttar Pradesh government in 2016 with the aim of providing integrated emergency services for the “security and protection” of the public.