Chennai, Oct 23 (IANS): Police in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore on Friday launched a mobile app 'Safe Kovai (SaKo)' to prevent burglaries at locked houses.

In a statement, the Coimbatore rural police said the respective police stations will receive information through the mobile app and cover the area where the locked houses are situated during day and night patrolling.

The project was conceived by the Coimbatore rural police with technical support by the Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Vattamalaipalayam, the statement said.

According to the Superintendent of Police, Coimbatore Rural, Selvanagarathinam, around 20 lakh people are residing in the Coimbatore district police limits and police on patrol can collect details of a maximum of 300 to 350 locked houses.

He said that people can download the app from Play Store, provide their mobile telephone numbers and they will get a one-time password (OTP).

Residents can later provide their address details on the mobile app, mention the details of their absence and upload the photographs of their locked houses.

The SP said that the cops with tablet and internet connection would go to the spot and verify the locked houses, take their photographs and upload them in the app which can be verified by the owner of the house.

Selvanagarathinam in the statement said that the mobile app is presently in English and the Tamil version will be included soon. Police would also help residents get CCTV cameras and alarm bells on rental basis from private providers to safeguard their houses while they are away from their residences, he added.