Udupi District Police have launched the ‘Locked House Beat System’ of guarding individual houses, across the district, during the period when occupants go out of station by locking the house.

Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar said in a release that those locking their houses and going out of station for a trip or any other events have to call the Udupi Police Control Room 0820-2526709 and inform about locking the house. The control room personnel will send the caller a WhatsApp number. The caller will have to send, to the WhatsApp number, how long the house will remain locked, the exact postal address of the house, and also a selfie of the caller by standing in front of the house.

The information by the caller will be sent to the related beat constable. Security and protection of such individual houses during the locking period will be ensured by the police.

Mr. Shankar cautioned people against sharing details about the house with unknown mobile numbers. The facility will be only for individual houses and it will not apply to flats in apartments, he said.

It was in April that the Director General and Inspector General of Police M.A. Saleem issued a circular asking all city and district police units to start the ‘Locked House Beat System’. The Mangaluru City Police and Dakshina Kannada district police are set to start the system shortly.

It was in 2016 that the then Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Gulabrao Borase started the system of police vigil on locked houses. People were asked to send to a dedicated number, through WhatsApp, the location of the house which will be under lock. The system was discontinued following his transfer in 2017.