Cops Use Corona Crisis To Change Perception About Them With Heroic Acts Of Kindness

The perception about men who don the khakhi aka policemen in India is not so encouraging. Even though there are several good cops who are doing their bit to keep the law and order under check, the reputation the movies and acts of a few have built over the years have completely tarnished their image. The result is you often associate the word police with fear or dislike rather than love or respect. But now, in the current scenario all this seems to be changing.

Remember Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the entire country to come out of their balconies and clap for our carers—the real heroes battling coronavirus in the frontline. Yes, the doctors. Now, there is another section of the society too which is working round the clock risking their lives to contain the virus. We are indeed talking about policemen.

Of late, innumerable stories of the men in Khakhi who have turned good samaritans to people by being at their service 24/7 are doing the rounds. Today, I came across a video of cops delivering a cake to a senior citizen in Chandigarh. Not only did the elderly person broke down over the kind gesture of the cops but also hailed their efforts during the fight against coronavirus.

People are no doubt distressed about the current state of affairs in the country. Be it staying indoors, to not being able to do things their way, the movement has been completely paralysed and thus brought a lot of distress to them. However, policemen are bringing sunshine into their lives with their little gestures.

In Idukki, a 60-year-old was surprised to receive an oxygen cylinder at her doorstep, courtesy the cops. In another Kerala town of Trissur, cops threw a birthday surprise for a woman.

Clearly, there are many more examples of policemen who are going beyond the call of duty to serve those in need. These unsung heroes are no less than the health workers who are treating covid19 patients. These cops are grabbing the headlines for all the right reasons in this hour of crisis. The lockdown heroes are truly leading by example—be it distributing food packets to the poor, delivering groceries at doorsteps or preventing lockdown violations, the policemen are doing all that and more to undo the damage done to their reputation. Today, the whole perception about bad cop seems to be vanishing slowly but surely. DIG Pandey in Bareily is inspiring fellow policemen by not only feeding the humans but also animals to ensure they don't go hungry. The videos of him feeding cows have gone viral and setting a good example for the others.

In Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, station officer Vijay Gupta has turned his own home into a community kitchen to serve the poor. Then there's another cop in Maharashtra village who helped a stranded woman reach back home safe. Jhansi's top cop Subhash Chandra Sharma traversed through remote villagers to feed the starving people there. With help from wife, he supplied food to scores of villagers.

The bottom line is police are stepping beyond their law enforcement role to help the poor and their services are clearly not just what's defined in the rule book. Here's saluting the true corona warriors who are going out of their way to keep people comfortable in times of crisis and also changing the negative perception about them.