How A Domestic Abuse Case Prompted IPS Officer Set Up 'Mobile Safety' Vehicle To Rescue Victims

Rema Rajeshwari, Telangana's Mahbubnagar district's Superintendent of Police, recently set up a "Mobile Safety" vehicle to help domestic abuse victims during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

While speaking to Humans of Bombay, Rajeshwari said, "A month into the lockdown, a lady called me from Kanpur. She was extremely distressed as her sister hadn't called in 3 days. Her husband would hit her and she worried it had happened again.

So we sent a dispatch team and found her in such a terrible condition, it shook me. She was badly bruised, hadn't had a single drop of water in 3 days and was writhing in pain. We rushed her to the hospital and filed a case against the husband."

Three days later, her sister called again and asked if I could send her home.

Rajeshwari then got all the passes for inter-state travel and made sure she was home safely.

The IPS officer said that the incident was a big eye-opener and there were numerous victims of domestic violence forced to live with their abusers and they could not even file a complaint.

"To help them, I set up 'Mobile Safety'¨C a vehicle with my team members doing rounds across the district and in 2 weeks, we had 40 cases!," she added.

She also set up food banks along the highways to help migrants walking back home.

"Once the railways finally opened, we helped 11,000 workers reach home in under 15 days," she added.

Over the past three months, she and her team have put their lives at stake and risked their families to help people. Last week, a team member tested positive for COVID and has been quarantined. "Still, the only question they ask me is, 'Madam! When can we get back in action?' Such is the love for our duty!" she concludes.