HYDERABAD: The downpour and the deluge earlier this week in Hyderabad have shown the people of the city the police’s friendly side. From alerting them about the rains, rescuing residents from waterlogged houses to putting their own lives on the line to recover the body of a man who got washed away in the flood, the men in khaki stood by the people during these trying times.
While a brave Constable D Surender Kumar of the Abdullapurmet police station showed that the force cares, even for the dead, Chikkadpally Constable Lingala Veerender’s attempt to rescue 25 people from marooned houses at Domalguda made him the ‘hero of the day’.
Let’s not forget Constable Mohd Mujeeb Ur Rahman from Nagarkurnool, who risked his life to save a stray dog from getting washed away by the currents of an overflowing culvert in September.
“My heartfelt appreciations to you all dear officers. The services you have been rendering in rescue & relief operations in the flood-affected areas across Telangana is exemplary & #BeyondTheCallOfDuty. Plz continue the same spirit, in partnership with other Depts, till normalcy is restored,” DGP M Mahender Reddy had tweeted.
On Tuesday night, Raghavender Goud and his friend Venkatesh Goud, who were travelling in a car, got washed away near Abullapurmet. Venkatesh’s body was found along with the vehicle the next day but Raghavender was untraceable. On Thursday morning, the local people alerted the police about a body stuck in a culvert in Inamguda village.
The personnel rushed to the spot and found that the water level, though low, was flowing with force. “Raghavender’s family was quite distressed. My superiors deployed an earthmover to fish out the body, but there was a risk of losing it entirely. As we had no other option left, I decided to do it myself. The Inspector and other officers tied ropes around my waist and suspended me into the water using the earthmover. We could not get him back alive, but at least we gave the body to his family,” Constable D Surender Kumar said.
L Veerender of the Chikkadpally police station, like the entire police force, was on duty round the clock. He rushed to Arvind Nagar at Domalguda after receiving an SOS from residents, mostly senior citizens, about floods in their area.
“Though I volunteered to help, it was the cooperation of the people and youngsters of the community, and support from my superiors that made me accomplish the task without fear,” he said.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar lauded the constable’s efforts on Twitter: “Constable officer Veerender of Chikadpally PS is my hero. He rescued 25 stranded people while himself remaining in deep water. This was at Aravind Nagar Domalguda.”
While these personnel proved how important citizens’ safety is to them, Constable Mujeeb went a step ahead to emphasise that every life matters.
Deployed at the Kesari Samudram culvert in Nagarkurnool on September 16, he was tasked with cautioning passersby about the brimming waterbody.
He noticed a stray dog fall into the water and get stuck in the bushes a few meters from the culvert. He called in an earthmover and rescued the animal.