Lockdown Heroes: Going Beyond The Call of Duty

Citizen Mahinoor

West Bengal police constable Mahinoor Khatun, 37, had kept aside ₹2 lakh for her father's treatment after he suffered two cardiac arrests. She was also planning to take him to Bengaluru for further check-ups, but looking at the plight of the people affected by the coronavirus lockdown, Khatun, a Burdwan resident, broke her savings for a noble cause. Khatun bought rice, pulses, mustard oil, onions and potatoes and started distributing it among the poor families.

Khatun was quoted by The Telegraph as saying that she was moved by the sight of rickshaw-pullers and daily wage earners asking for rice and potatoes—something they would never have done if they were earning money.

Khatun says that she will continue to support them until they are in a position to return to their old lives. According to The Telegraph, Khatun recently distributed relief packages consisting of three kilograms each of rice and potatoes, along with pulses, onions and mustard oil to 900 families.

East Burdwan police chief, Bhaskar Mukherjee, praised Khatun and said that she will inspire many more in uniform to do the same.

Source: The Telegraph

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Police car for hospital

The police in Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu received an odd request from the desperate mother of a 12-year-old girl suffering from cancer. With the state in lockdown and no vehicle in sight, Sarojini, the girl's mother told the police that her daughter was suffering from leukemia and that she had to be taken to a hospital in Madurai, around 130 kilometres from Ramanathapuram.

The New Indian Express quoted Ramanathpuram superintendent of police V. Varun Kumar as saying that the caller's identity was verified. Then a police car was arranged so that the girl could be taken to the hospital along with her parents.

The Ramanathapuram police came in for much praise for this humanitarian effort. We also hope that the girl is doing well.

Source: The New Indian Express

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Bengaluru cop rides 430 kilometres to deliver medicines to cancer patient

H. Kumar Swamy, a Bengaluru-based police constable of the Karnataka police, was watching a regional news television channel in which a distressed caller from Dharwad was heard telling the anchor how he was running out of his cancer medication. The caller said that due to the coronavirus lockdown he could not obtain the drug. Moreover, it was available only in a few select medical stores in Bengaluru.

The tale of the victim moved Kumar Swamy so much that he immediately got in touch with the channel to get the telephone number of the cancer patient. The Deccan Herald reported that he collected the medicines Friday, 10 April and left for Dharwad, 430 kilometres north-west of Bengaluru, early next morning.

After a 10-hour journey on his Honda Activa scooter, Swamy reached the patient's house and delivered the medicines, much to the surprise of the patient's family. According to the local media, Swamy sought immediate leave for a day to help the patient.

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao later felicitated Swamy.

Source: Deccan Herald