MULUGU : From the extrajudicial killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, US, to the alleged lockup death of a Dalit person named Srilam Rangaiah in Manthani, the police force, irrespective of the State they belong to, has always drawn much flak from all sections of the society, especially the oppressed people.
Though the sleuths work round-the-clock and are frontline warriors, it is an undeniable fact that public perception of the police is mostly “at least a good number of them are drunk with power”. The question now is, should it continue that way?
The life story of a Superintendent of Police (SP) will indeed make one realise that it need not be the same. Sangram Singh G Patil has set an example as to how a responsible official, who is in-charge of maintaining law and order, should be. Patil currently serves as the in-charge SP of Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district, while being the SP of Mulugu — two districts which deal with the menace of LWE.
Being an SP, though he could easily be oblivious of what is going around, Patil decided to take the road less travelled and began working for those living in the Agency areas.
As he was an MBBS doctor before becoming a cop, Patil decided to utilise his expertise in the field of medicine for the welfare of the Adivasis.
It was after noticing the living conditions of the tribals that Patil decided to work as a doctor for them. Now, he is focused on spreading awareness among them on the importance of health and hygiene, while organising medical camps in Agency areas with no proper connectivity, once in every 15 days. According to sources, his aim is to ensure proper medical attention to the tribals of Gotti Koya community living in Gotti Koya Gudem and Korrachintalapadu and those residing in Eturnagaram, Mulugu, Tadavi, Venkatapuram mandals. It may be mentioned here that there are as many as 51 tribal hamlets without proper road connectivity in the district. With his initiatives, Patil has already won the hearts of all tribals living in the Agency areas, as he is also providing them medicines free of cost.
Sangram Singh G Patil obtained his MBBS degree from Maharashtra in 2011, and worked in Delhi as a doctor for a few years. Later, he started preparing for the Civil Services and bagged Indian Police Service (IPS) in 2015. Speaking to Express, Sangram Singh G Patil said that the main reason why he decided to work among the tribals, especially women and children, was their living conditions.
“It was during the combing operations that I found out many such areas do not have proper road connectivity and hence have to travel a lot for medical attention. I discussed my plan with a few acquaintances and decided to go ahead with it. Now, with my limited knowledge I attend to many children who suffer from skin disorders, women who develop pregnancy-related issues and others suffering from anaemia, malnutrition etc. Though I approached the locals with the idea, they were sceptical as I am a person in khaki. But, slowly their approach changed. We started medical camps with 15 doctors and special teams from IMA, Warangal. We attend to patients and provide them free medicines if the diseases are not critical. Otherwise, we shift them to the nearby hospital. With this initiative, we have won their hearts,” Patil said.