Reunion of infant and mother the happiest thing: Ker woman police officer who breastfed the child

PTI, Nov 2, 2022, 3:46 PM IST

MR Ramya would like to call herself as an accidental police officer as she never thought that she would wear the khaki uniform in life as the mother of two had aspired to be a teacher during her school and college days.

Just like her unexpected entry into the force, this civil police officer in her late 20s also had little idea she would become the gentle and humane face of the state police and who’s and who of the society would lavish praise upon her for the noble deed.

A civil police officer (CPO) attached to the Chevayur police station here, Ramya recently shot into limelight by breastfeeding a 12-day old baby, separated from its mother due to a row between the parents, to save its life.

Several prominent personalities including Kerala High Court judge Justice Devan Ramachandran and state DGP Anil Kant prasied the virtuous act of the woman officer.

In the certificate sent to her, Justice Ramachandran had said, ”You are, today, the face of policing at its best. A fine officer and a true mother – you are both! The nectar of life is a divine gift, which only a mother can give and you offered it while on duty. You keep alive the hope of humanism for the future in all of us.” Ramya, however, said she has never felt that she has done anything extraordinary as she was more a woman and a mother than a police officer in such a situation.

”While we were going in search of the baby, I was thinking about the mother and the infant which was separated from her. I desperately wanted to unite the two. I was calling my husband in between and he would console me saying me and my colleagues could surely succeed in the mission,” Ramya told PTI.

The incident occurred on October 29, when the baby’s mother lodged a complaint at the Chevayur police station in Kozhikode claiming her child was missing and that due to a dispute with her husband, he had taken away the infant, police sources said.

On the conclusion that the father may have gone to Bengaluru, where he works, with the child, the police stations on the Wayanad border were alerted and during checking of vehicles at the state border, the Sultan Bathery police found the baby and the father, they said.

The infant was rushed to a hospital as it appeared exhausted due to lack of mother’s milk and there it was found that the baby’s sugar level was low.

On hearing this, Ramya, who was part of the police team from Chevayur which had gone to Wayanad to bring back the infant, informed doctors that she was a nursing mother and thereafter, breastfed the baby, saving its life.

She said the thoughts about her own children, aged four and one year old, were flashing through the mind during the journey tracing the missing infant.

So, when the doctors said the child appeared exhausted and that its sugar level was low, she did not hesitate a bit in offering to breastfeed the child and saving its life, Ramya said.

A native of Chingapuram village in this north Kerala district, Ramya is a post graduate in English Language and Literature.

Like many of her friends, she would like to choose teaching as her profession after completing B.Ed course.

However, the sudden extension of the B.Ed course duration to two years had dashed her teaching dreams as the family opined that it might take a long time to complete the course and then find a job.

”Several marriage proposals were also coming at that time. So, I started preparing for the state Public Service Commission examinations. To my surprise, I cleared a last grade exam and managed to find a place in the rank list by preparing for just one month,” she said.

Ramya said it was really an inspiration for her to write more such examinations and thus she cleared the police officer test at the age of 24 years.

She had joined the force four years ago after completing her training in the second batch of the women’s battalion and had thereafter served in the fourth squad of the armed police battalion.

”As I was married in between and pregnant with the first child, I could join the force only a year later after the appointment. My five year old son is very proud of his mother being a cop. Now, I also have an one year old daughter. I recently joined duty after my maternity leave,” she said.

The officer said her family members, especially her husband, a higher secondary school teacher, was very happy and supportive when they came to know about the incident.

”That night, while returning home, we did not get food from anywhere…all hotels were closed. I told my husband that I just need a cup of water. It was such a satisfying day. We could unite the baby with its mother…,” the woman officer added.

SPC Anil Kant recently presented the CPO with a commendation certificate after inviting her and her family to the Police Headquarters here.

Kant also said that her actions enhanced the reputation of the force, according to a police statement.