DHAKA  – The present government as part of its vision to ensure equal protection of the law for all has provided legal help via toll-free national helpline ‘16430’ to a total of 1,85, 286 women, subjected to physical and mental tortures, free of cost.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the National Legal Aid Day on April 28, 2016, launched the service, helping the justice seekers to get access to free legal aid by dialing the number.

Revealing the data of the past three years, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq said the number of women, receiving government legal aid is growing day by day.

“The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is always sincere in checking violence against women and to ensure justice to them, who suffered violence, we are providing legal aid free of cost,” he said.

National Legal Aid Services Organisation (NLASO) assistant director (administration) Kazi Yeasin Habib said people can get legal advices, legal information, counseling, primary information about filing a case and advices regarding national legal aid through the helpline.

“Last year a total of 20,800 people received legal aid by dialing the toll-free number. Of them, 5,500 were women,” Habib said.

The NLASO official said in the age of modern technology, people can avail legal aid services through dialing the number from their mobile phones and land phones, sending text, and using mobile app or facebook messenger.

The NLASO is a statutory body working under the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to adopt policies and principles for making legal services available under the Legal Aid Services Act, 2000.