Bengaluru: Policemen handling traffic near Bengaluru’s international airport have chosen to walk the extra mile to save accident victims.
In what is seen as the first such initiative in India, the cops attached to Devanahalli police station, 13 km from the Kempegowda International Airport in Karnataka state, have voluntarily pooled in money to help accident victims.
Devanahalli traffic police inspector Rajesh L Y said he decided to create a corpus after seeing the victims’ plight. “Many lives are lost because of the delay in medical relief. When we take them to hospital, doctors prescribe CT scan and other tests that require money,” he explained.
He said his colleagues willingly accepted his proposal of making personal contributions toward an Emergency Relief Fund (ERF). He made his first personal contribution of 5,000 rupees while his colleagues of various ranks, pooled in whatever they could.
The moment an accident takes place, the officer is alerted, who then rushes to the spot with money, shifts the victim to the nearest hospital and pays immediate medical bills.
Though the present corpus is only a little over 15,000 rupees, it does serve a purpose and shows the humane side of cops who are frequently under criticism in the city of swelling population.
The cops have pledged not to wait for the victims’ relatives to come to pay for medical treatment during the ‘Golden Hour’ but instead contribute personal money to save precious lives.
Ironically, the noble venture began much before the southern Indian state announced a succor scheme in memory Harish Nanjappa who pledged his eyes even as his body was almost sliced to half in a gory road accident in February this year.
Under this scheme called ‘ Mukhyamantri Santwana ‘Harish’ scheme’ the government contributes up to 25,000 Indian rupees for medical treatment of accident victims within 48 hours of the accident.
The police are often caught in a ‘jinx’ over trying to immediately identify the victims or trace their relatives and on the other hand hospitals refusing treatment on flimsy pretexts until payment is made, leaving the ‘Golden Hour to fade-by.
Prashanth Kumar, 26, an employee at the Airport who rides daily on the dangerous road told Matters India, “I have seen so many major accidents happen on this road, I tried to help a few and even called the police but some disgusting people click pictures from their cell phones and ride or drive away.” He adds, “It feels so good to know that our police are going beyond the call of normal duty to help save lives”.
Statistics reveal at least eight accidents every month, including two fatal ones, on the airport. Most victims are pedestrians.
Inspector Rajesh said they were able to save eight lives after creating the corpus. “In several cases, the victim’s relatives returned the money. In some cases, the victim dies despite our best efforts but we never demanded the money back from the relatives.”
A senior Police Officer (on anonymity) told Matters India, “The media often reports of police lapses, corruption or high-handedness of the police. The reports may be authentic, but why doesn’t the media report so many good things we do beyond the call of duty? It not only boosts us but also helps us receive trust and co-operation from the general public.”