UP: ‘Road not fit for vehicle’, police carry woman with burns to Dial-100 van

Five policemen in Banda district were rewarded with certificates after a video of them carrying a woman with burns for around half a kilometre on a charpoy became viral on the social media on Monday.

The reported incident took place Sunday when 48-year-old Yashoda, a widow, allegedly attempted to commit suicide by setting herself on fire. “The woman is undergoing treatment at Banda district hospital and is reportedly out of danger,” Banda Superintendent of Police (SP) Ganesh Prasad Saha said.

The five policemen – two from Naraini police station and three of a Dial-100 police response vehicle (PRV) – reportedly walked for around 500 metre with the injured woman to bring her to the PRV parked on the road. “When we got the information on Sunday about the attempted suicide, constables Santosh Kumar and Rohit Yadav were sent to Baldu ka Purwa village to look into the matter. In the meantime, a PRV with three policemen also reached the spot. On reaching the village, they realised that the vehicle couldn’t travel to the house as there was no pucca road. So, the five policemen carried the injured woman on their shoulders to the PRV in order to take her to the hospital,” said Rakesh Saroj, station house officer (SHO) of the Naraini police station.

“Prima facie it seems the woman took the step due to some money-related matter. Details are not available. Police are investigating it,” the SHO added.

“By the time we reached Yashoda’s house, we saw that the fire was already doused by the locals and she was in need for immediate medical help. However, the problem was the location of her house. It is located at a place where no vehicle could reach. The PRV was parked on the main road, around half-a-kilometre from her house. So, we decided to put her on a charpoy and carry her to the PRV on our shoulders,” said Yadav. “Nobody had called the ambulance by the time we reached the spot. Only her son was there,” he added.

“It shows the dedication and devotion of these policemen. The woman was in need for medical attention and she could be saved only because these cops acted on time. I have given each of them a certificate for their good work and will also give a cash reward in the coming days,” the Banda SP said.

When asked about the condition of the roads in the village for which the vehicles couldn’t reach the doorstep of the victim, Banda District Magistrate Heera Lal said that he didn’t have any information about the incident, but he would get the details and would look into the circumstances in which the policemen had to walk that long to take the injured woman to the PRV. He also applauded the cops for their work.

Courtesy: Mr. Haleem Khan IAS (Retd.)