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At the same time, the officials said they were reluctant to take any punitive measures against such callers, fearing it might discourage people from making calls for help.

As an alternative, they sometimes block the numbers of such disruptive callers for a certain period of time.

Contacted, Mohammad Tabarak Ullah, chief of 999-service unit, told The Daily Star, “Such calls obstruct our first responders from actual emergencies of people.”

The 999 is a toll-free hotline number that allows citizens in trouble to call and ask for police assistance. Citizens can avail a number of services through this helpline, including assistance for any type of crime, accident, abduction, fire, and call for ambulances. From its inception on December 10, 2017 till January 31, the National Emergency Service has received over 3.53 crore calls.