BENGALURU: No distance is too great for a Good Samaritan. The cop, who has shown how empathy shines in these tough times, rode on his Honda Activa to deliver medicine all the way to a cancer patient in Dharwad and back, covering a distance of 960km.
Meet 47-year-old S Kumaraswamy, a head constable who works at the Bengaluru City Police Control room.
On Friday (April 10), when Kumaraswamy was watching a regional news channel, Umesh, the cancer patient from Dharwad, called the anchor and said the drug was available only in Bengaluru and that he needed it by Sunday (April 12).
No rest for head constable
After his morning shift (8 am to 1 pm) the same day, he went to the TV channel office where he collected the patient’s number. He called and spoke to the patient and checked if he could arrange for the medicine.
The patient told him that his medicine was available at DS Research Centre in Indiranagar, Bengaluru.
Kumaraswamy went on his bike, collected the medicine and returned to his office to seek permission from his senior, ACP Ajaykumar Singh, who granted it.
He then went home and was all set for the long bike ride through his wife and son dissuaded him from embarking on such a risky journey. But Kumaraswamy did not relent, and on Saturday (April 11), he started from home at 4 am and reached the patient’s house in Dharwad at 2.30 pm.
Over his 10-hour journey, he had just one bottle of water and a packet of biscuits.
“At Umesh’s house, they were shocked to see me coming all the way from Bengaluru with the drug,’’ he said.
I just felt like helping, says the cop
Again at 4 pm, head constable S Kumaraswamy left Umesh’s house and at 10.30 pm, he reached Chitradurga.
“I was tired. There was a fire station office, and I requested them to allow me to rest there till early morning. I left at 5.30 am and reached Bengaluru by 10.30 am,’’ he said.
Kumaraswamy had travelled about 960 km, an adventure he had never tried in the 22 years of service with the police department.
Asked if he is from Dharwad, he said, “I have no connection with that place. I am from Ramanagara.’’ What made him do this?
“I just felt like helping. When I went to Umesh’s house, I realised they were indeed in need of it. He has to take it for two years continuously and it is curable,’’ he added.
Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao has felicitated Kumaraswamy.