THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/BENGALURU: On Friday around 11 am, additional sub-inspector T Biju of Kovalam police station attended a phone call. It was 75-year-old Gomathi on the other end of line. She needed help to deliver food to her elder sister, Rajamma, 79. Biju ran out of the station and bought a packet of biscuits and some bananas, delivering it to Rajamma at Porode near Venganoor . He also ensured lunch and dinner would reach her.

Rajamma is one of the many senior citizens that cops like Biju help. Ever since the national lockdown, policemen have been busy visiting households and preparing lists of “weaker citizens” who may require their services.

The state police have also started community kitchens in each district. “Our aim is to cater to the destitute and migrant labourer population in each district,’’ said ADGP Manoj Abraham .

In Bengaluru, a lone policewoman has helped restore calm among hundreds of residents. Armed with a public address system, ACP Tabarak Fathima, 32, has been going around giving pep talks, playing songs about staying in. Videos of Fathima have gone viral. She can be seen giving a new twist to the song ‘Hum Honge Kamyaab ’ and singing: “We shall stay at home, we shall sanitise.”

