Bhubaneswar, June 30: Travelling in the city is set to become even more smooth for women commuters with police planning to add 150 pink autorickshaws to the existing fleet of 350.

Besides, the police are also planning to open 15 more pink auto kiosks in different parts of the city. At present, there are 10 such kiosks.

The announcements were made on the day that marked a year of the service.

Terming the service as commendable, police commissioner R.P. Sharma said: "In the past one year, we have not received a single complaints from any passenger regarding the behaviour of the drivers. Considering its popularity, we are planning to add 150 vehicles by July."

The police have also decided to felicitate 20 pink autorickshaw drivers every year for their work and behaviour.

On June 27 last year, the police had launched the service with more than 200 vehicles. Though the colour of the three-wheelers are not pink, they have a retro-reflective pink sticker stuck in the front. These stickers make these vehicles visible at night.

Police officials said at present, 5,000 women passengers ply in 350 such vehicles and the number would reach 7,000 when more vehicles are rolled out. The operators of these vehicles have been provided with special identity cards, which is issued by the police after verifying their antecedents.

The cops also urged the operators to help commuters who would need immediate medical attention on the road.

The officials assured the drivers that they would not get entangled in any sort of paperwork for taking an injured to hospitals.

"If any auto driver finds any commuter injured on the road, he should either immediately call an ambulance or take the injured in their vehicle to a hospital," said Odisha Autorickshaw Mahasangha president Subhash Singh.

Three robbers held

Police today arrested three persons in connection with a robbery at the house of a college lecturer at Sailshree Vihar on Saturday.

The cops today nabbed the mastermind, Ashok Pangari, and two of his associates - Bhajaman Khatei, 22, and Bichitrananda Baliarsingh, 28, - while another accused Sangram Mohanty, 22, is still on the run.

The cops said Pangari used to work as a driver for Krushna Chandra Singh, 68, a biology lecturer at a private college in the city.

"He worked for the lecturer for one month and then left the job on June 20. Subsequently, he plotted the crime as he knew the time when his wife Jyotsnarani Singh, 65, would be alone at home," said deputy commissioner of police, Satyabrata Bhoi.

Despite advising the senior citizens to keep details of all their helps ready at hand, the Singh family doesn't have any details of Pangari, a police official said.

The cops have seized a laptop, two pairs of earrings and other silver ornaments from the accused.