It was around 10.30 a.m. on January 31, when the mobile phone of Kotturu Sirisha, a sub-inspector at the Kasibugga police station rang. It was her superior officer in the station, who informed her that an unidentified body was found on the town outskirts. She along with some staff rushed to the spot, which could be accessed only after a trek of about 2 km through agricultural fields. Upon reaching there, they noticed that it was the body of an elderly person. Two of her staff refused to carry the body, fearing that the man might have died due to COVID-19.
“At that time, I only wanted to ensure a decent last rites for the poor man as my father’s words to see ‘God’ in every man had come to my mind and I decided to carry the stretcher on my shoulders,” Ms. Sirisha narrates.
As she started carrying the body on her shoulders, the staff who refused earlier, joined her in the effort.
The video of the incident has gone viral in social media and Ms. Sirisha became an overnight sensation. She has received at least 400 calls and hundreds of Tweets in social media for the last three days, including from many senior police officials and general public.
Roots in Vizag
A native of Vizag city, she says that her father K. Apparao, a mason, is her motivating factor. “Though uneducated, he taught me human values and always desired to see me as a police officer,” she tells The Hindu.
An alumnus of the Visakha Women’s Degree College, Ms. Sirisha, on her father’s advice, prepared and got selected as a constable for the Excise Department in 2014 and cracked the SI examination in 2017.
Though all my postings were out of my native city and district, my connection with Visakhapatnam is emotionally strong, she says.
She had earned a good name among her staff and people, wherever she was posted in the last three years, for her helping nature and kind attitude.
Ginni Ramu, a native of Nandigam, recalls how she took care of an elderly couple who were thrown out of their house in December 2019. She not only provided essentials and took care of them for a brief period but also helped re-unite them with their children, after a number counselling sessions, he says.
“My goal is to become a DSP for which I am preparing now,” says Ms. Sirisha. DGP Gowtham Sawang’s words of appreciation, “You have resembled what friendly policing is”, have given her a big boost.