Sagar
BHUBANESWAR: A while before the Sun sets over Laxmisagar, a swarm of school children joyously walk into the local police station. They troop into a room, sit, dance and sing. Sometimes, they simply sit and make noise, or play hide and seek in the compound. All under the caring spell of the cops.
Quite unusually, uniformed cops are their ‘friends’. They poke fun at the burly cops, wear their caps mockingly, and even take the batons to tease the men in uniform. Uniting the children is a common desire: they all want to be cops when they grow up. Here now are the starting lessons.
For over a year, slum kids have been coming to the police station compound after their school time, and playing. Cops didn’t mind. Then, one day, inspector in-charge Rajat Kumar Ray came up with an idea. Instead of asking them out, why not court them and encourage these poor kids?
“We can’t help with adults. But, we can endear these kids. Instead of seeing us in the role of protector, the society fears us. We are looking at effecting a change in the society’s mindset,” Ray said matter-of- fact.
The cops buy them books, pens and stationery. “They come from poor families. Their dreams were to become a cook in a hotel, a helper or a driver. But, after we gave them a space to engage with us, they all want to become police officers,” Ray said, while kids played around.
The cops also arranged a teacher for these kids, who gives them tuition at the police station every Sunday. Recently, the cops also threw a party for the kids. The kids ate, danced and sang full throttle.
This Sunday, the kids spoke to Orissa POST. Why did they want to be cops, this correspondent asked them. Pat came the reply from seven-year-old Khusbu Behera, “I want to serve the society.”
Ray himself comes from a poor family. After graduating from his village, he joined the police services. “If we want our kids to grow, we must give them freedom to dream… to dream big,” Ray said.
More than 30 kids play around every day at the police compound. Before starting with their day’s games, they dutifully touch feet of Ray and other senior cops. “That’s part of discipline,” reasons Ray.