Terminally ill with leukaemia, Telangana boy ‘becomes’ police commissioner for a day

When Ishan woke up on Wednesday morning, it was as a six-year-old boy suffering from leukaemia. A few hours later, he was seated in the Rachakonda police commissioner’s office at Gachibowli – complete with a khaki uniform and a number of law enforcement officers waiting on him.

It was a dream come true for Ishan, the youngest child of a painter. His wish to become a police officer had fructified, albeit for a day.

Ishan salutes his “colleagues” at the commissionerate on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

The third son of D Chand Pasha and Haseena of Kunchanpalli village in Medak district, the boy had been undergoing treatment for leukaemia at the MNJ Cancer Hospital in Red Hills for some time now. However, his doctors recently came up with some bad news. Ishan’s condition was deteriorating, and he wouldn’t live long enough to realise his dream of becoming a police officer.

The aggrieved parents contacted an NGO called ‘Make a Wish Foundation’, which fulfils the ambitions of terminally ill children. Its representatives approached Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat, who wholeheartedly accepted their request.

On the big day, Ishan was brought in all his uniformed glory to the commissioner’s office, where Bhagawat and the other officers welcomed him with a bouquet of flowers. They then led him to the police commissioner’s chair.

Ishan could barely restrain his joy at an interaction with mediapersons later in the day. “I want to install CCTV cameras across the city to keep a watch on criminals and monitor the law-and-order situation,” he said. “Also, I would like to make the police people-friendly and ensure the safety of women by increasing the number of ‘mahila police stations’ here.”

The boy stayed in the commissionerate till evening, after which he was taken back to the hospital.