On the wintry night of January 30, a 45-year-old woman, who looked mentally unstable, was seen criss-crossing the Bhakarapet forest road, 25 km from Tirupati. Luckily, she could escape being hit by speeding vehicles, thanks to the alert drivers.
Circle-Inspector (Piler Rural) S. Murali Krishna, who was on night patrol, rescued the woman with bruises, and shifted her to the Bhakarapet police station. Finding her mentally disturbed, a case was registered under the Mental Health Care Act 2010, and she was shifted to a government-run home for the mentally sick in Visakhapatnam the next day, with permission from the local court at Piler.
Two women constables, Sobha and Durga, of Bhakarapet station were entrusted the job of shifting the woman to Vishakapatnam, and also to monitor her health condition, with a view to restore her to the kin at the earliest.
After a five month-long treatment, doctors from Visakhaptnam contacted Mr. Murali Krishna, and said the woman had fully recovered and was perfectly fit for getting discharged. Under care of women constables, the woman was brought back to Bhakarapeta police station on Friday. Interestingly, the woman had reportedly withheld her personal information from the medical team at Vizag, and expressed the wish that she be left at the Bhakarapet police station.
In a cheerful mood, fully adhering to COVID-19 guidelines, the woman greeted Mr. Murali Krishna and profusely thanked him and the constables who took care of her, regularly speaking to her with concern. She identified herself as a resident of a village, 35 km from the police station. She informed the police that before she could reunite with her son, she was obliged to first see and thank the police personnel.
On information, the woman’s 25-year-old son rushed to the police station and it was a tearful reunion of the mother and son, after one year. It was observed that the woman slipped into depression after her husband left home five years ago. In June 2019, the woman, who by then was suffering from mental trauma, got lost in a village shandy near Kalikiri. Her son, after lodging a missing complaint with the local police, launched a frantic search for her at many temple towns, railway and bus stations, but in vain.
The mother-son duo took leave of the police personnel with folded hands and touching their feet. As a gesture of goodwill, the police bid them farewell with fruits. “This episode gives us great satisfaction as police personnel and human beings as well,” Mr. Murali Krishna said.