HYDERABAD: A day in Head Constable A Narsimhulu’s life seems like a sequence pulled straight out of a movie. Once, the official, who is deputed to Malkajgiri police station, had to run 2 km along the tracks of Moula Ali railway station, in search of man attempting suicide. Narsimhulu was told that a special train would pass through the station in the next few minutes, and that the man was planning to lie on the tracks. When he could not trace the man, he rushed to the railway station, and urged station master to halt the train for a while.
Later, the police rescued the man, who is a resident of Meerpet working as a lecturer at a private college. He wanted to end his life due to personal issues. Narsimhulu alone has rescued seven persons from suicide, while the Rachakonda police prevented nine suicides in 2021 so far, and over 15 in 2020.
“The train was approaching, but we couldn’t find the man on the tracks. His mobile location clearly indicated that he was there. He was saved because the train was stopped. A small negligence or delay could have killed him. Our joy knew no bounds when his family thanked us with folded hands and teary eyes,” Narsimhulu told Express.
In December, 2020, the official rescued a woman, who along with her daughter, had attempted to jump from a multi-storeyed building due to harassment from her husband. While his colleagues kept her engaged, Narsimhulu got on top of the adjoining building and climbed onto her terrace.
A Narsing Rao from Uppal police station is another official, whose sheer perseverance helped him prevent a photographer’s suicide. The 28-year-old man had left open the gas stove, slit both his wrists before going live on Facebook. Alerted by his family, a patrolling team — which Narsing Rao was a part of — rushed to the spot and rescued him within 19 minutes.
“We quickly flung open the windows and switched off the gas. By then, the victim was bleeding profusely. Since we knew it would take us some time to get him to the hospital, we applied turmeric powder on the wounds, and wrapped them up with cloth. We then rushed him to a hospital in the patrol car,” Narsing Rao said.
Speaking to Express, Rachakonda Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said that such incidents showed how technology could be used not only for solving crimes but also for saving lives. “Crime prevention does good to any society, but saving lives of people give us more satisfaction,” he said, adding that the victims must always be treated with empathy.
A stitch in time
SOS calls from families, neighbours and passersby are routed to the respective patrol teams via Dial 100, and the location of the victims are shared with them. While a team coordinates with the family and engages the victim via phone, patrol teams rescue them from death