34,000 people take free legal advice from govt helpline in 2018-’19

National Legal Aid Services Organisation (NLASO) helpline ‘16430’ provided free legal advice to about 34,000 people in 2018-2019.

“A total of 33,979 people received legal advice and information by dialling the toll-free number in 2018-2019. Of the recipients, 25,495 were male, 7,767 female, 651 children and 15 people of third gender,” said Kazi Yeasin Habib, assistant director (administration) of NLASO.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the National Legal Aid Day on April 28, 2016, launched the service and it is becoming popular with the passing of time. In the first two years since its inception, a total of 25,887 people had received free legal advice through the toll-free number till March, 2018.

Habib, also a senior assistant judge, said the NLASO provides different types of services through its national helpline.

“People can get legal advice, legal information, counselling, primary information about filing a case and advice regarding national legal aid, and they can also file complaints regarding the service through the helpline,” he said.

The NLASO official said in the age of modern technology, people can avail of legal aid services through dialling 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.

Any poor person is entitled to get free legal aid services. Besides, any individual receiving old-age allowance, distressed mother holding a VGD card, women and children victims of trafficking and acid throwing, insolvent widow, abandoned or distressed woman, disabled person and poor detainee can avail of the free legal services.