Cops lend a helping hand to children

Thiruvananthapuram: A message sent to a WhatsApp group of Student Police Cadet members and officials at Kovalam seeking help to buy a television for a student who could not attend online classes soon turned into a mini people’s movement at the end of which as many as eight deserving students received LED televisions.
On Friday, the Kovalam Janamaithri police officials visited the residence of each student along with the sponsors and handed over the TV sets.
It all started when mother of a Class X student at Government High School, Vazhamuttom, approached his teacher seeking help. As the student was a former cadet of Student Police Cadets (SPC), the teacher informed the matter to SPC coordinator and drill inspector ASI T Biju. He in turn posted a message in WhatsApp group of SPC project of Government HS, Vazhamuttom.
“The intention behind sharing the message in the group was to seek support of parents of other students and teachers. But more students secretly reached out to us revealing that they too were in need of help,” said ASI T Biju. Police received more than 15 requests. They conducted a background check and found out that as many as eight students were from really poor families and they were chosen as beneficiaries. When the number of beneficiaries rose, the matter was shared in the Janamaithri WhatsApp group in which local businessmen and residents were also members. The restaurant and hoteliers in the group took up the matter and agreed to sponsor the TVs, Biju said.
Of the eight students, four are ex-SPC cadets of GHS, Vazhamuttom. They are currently in Class X. Two are Class IX students of GHS for Girls, Venganoor and the other two are a Class II student of SN LPS, Kovalam, and a higher secondary student of Government Higher Secondary School for Girls, Venganoor.
Efforts are also on to identify such needy students.