The photo of a Hyderabad traffic policeman feeding an elderly homeless woman has gone viral, earning him accolades from social media users and from the Home Minister of the state.
On Sunday, home guard B Gopal, who was on duty at the junction near Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Kukkatpally, saw the frail-looking older woman, Buchamma, who was lying on the side of the road, looking exhausted. Moved by how helpless she looked, Gopal got breakfast for her. Not stopping there, he then went ahead and fed her.
The Hyderabad police’s PRO shared a photo of this, which quickly went viral, earning him praise from several quarters, including the Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar and Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy.
Speaking to TNM, Gopal said, “Yesterday I saw Buchamma (lying on the road side) in a very bad shape. She seemed extremely exhausted. I immediately knew the reason; she was hungry. Since she wasn’t in a position to even lift a finger, I fed her.”
He added that he had seen Buchamma almost every day, and made some effort to interact with her.
“Five months ago, Buchamma was hit by a vehicle. We took her to the hospital then and took care of her. Ever since then, she is quite close to the department people who are on duty near the junction,” he said.
Buchammaha is now been sent to a welfare home in Cherlapally.
“The story of Buchamma is quite sad,” said Gopal. “She has nine children, but all of them abandoned her. I hope that at least one of them will come in search of her and take her home.”
He further said, “I was extremely upset about the things I heard about police people. Almost everyone says that we lack compassion and humanity. But that’s not the truth. We do serve the people, but people no longer appreciate us. Hopefully, after seeing that picture, at least a few might rethink about their preconceived notions about us.”
Another constable, Jahangir from the Kukatpally traffic police station was recently given a cash prize by the Commissioner of Police for helping a girl who got lost. The constable noticed the child and immediately located her father, and reunited the two.
A home guard of Kukatpally police station noticed the little girl on the road alone. When she told him her father was a labourer, he went searching for him in the area, traced him and handed over his daughter to him. #police #Hyderabad pic.twitter.com/K7uMtD3MiV
— Sushil Rao (@sushilrTOI) April 1, 2018