Men out to harass women never had it so easy in Madhya Pradesh. When a young woman zoomed past, all they had to do was SMS the vehicle’s registration number to a government facility to get her name or address SMSed back to them in no time.

They would call her by name before she reached the next crossroads or wait near her home by the time she got there-all because a Madhya Pradesh transport department facility provided details of vehicles, their owners when the registration number was SMSed to 98270-20002, linked to the department’s website.

“When we analysed the data, we found that most SMSes sought details of vehicles registered in the name of young women,” said Deputy Transport Commissioner (Enforcement) Upendra Jain. He said the department had also received a few complaints.

The number has now been changed to 53030 and does not provide address and other details.

But if the vehicle happens to be registered in the name of the girl driving it, the men can still get her name. In any case, details like the vehicle’s chassis number and so forth, also SMSed back to the enquirer, are not of much use to those with sexual harassment on their mind.

When the transport department introduced the facility, aimed at introducing transparency, it hardly foresaw this problem. The idea was to help policemen quickly find out details of vehicles involved in accidents or suspected to be stolen or involved in some crime. It was also meant to help those purchasing second-hand vehicles by giving details of original date of purchase, fitness certificate, tax, fees paid.

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