Uniformed storytellers

Cop tales

Hum yahan report likhte hai. Sabse acchi baat hi yahi hai ki dukhi aadmi sabse pehle humare paas aata hai. Dusre ka dukh kam karne se zyaada acha aur kya hai. Aur agar koi apne dukh mein do-chaar baatein bol bhi de toh sunn leni chahiye..uss samay wo aur kisse sunaega!” Virpal Singh, head constable, Delhi Police, says referring to how they are the first ones people approach when distressed.

Similarly, head constable Sunita recollects how once her team spotted a girl in an inebriated condition, stumbling her way on Bungalow Road late at night.

“She couldn’t even remember her address. She had no friends with her. We couldn’t just leave her there! So we picked her up. She insisted that she could manage on her own, but we understood that she was not in a condition to do that,” she says.

Finally, after searching for hours, they managed to narrow down her neighbourhood in Pitampura and at round 2.30 am located her address and dropped her off. “Her family’s gratitude was extremely moving. Agar kuch ho jaata to log bas mombattiyan jala dete (people would have taken out candle marches if something untoward would have happened). By dropping her off safely, we could prevent that altogether. It felt good,” she adds.

Many such heart-warming stories and personal anecdotes can be found on
Humans of Delhi Police, an initiative undertaken to understand the lives of people working with the Delhi Police; share their untold stories, and bring out their humane side. The initiative — which was inspired by American photographer and blogger Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York Facebook page — shares stories of people working with the force on its Facebook page.

“Another crucial reason is that while we get to see exclusive stories about the inefficiency of the police force, nobody really talks about the hard work they put in to ensure our safety,” says Kunal Arora, co-founder, The Education Tree, and the brain behind the project.

He tells Metrolife that the idea came up during a discussion with a team of the Delhi Police. “I have had the opportunity to work with the police for a period of two months. As part of that program, I had to take workshops and that completely changed my perspective. I realised that these officials are just like us, who face similar set of problems and challenges in their lives.

But they choose to serve the society over anything else, and that too without any
expectations,” he says.

Recently-launched, Humans of Delhi Police has over 1,500 followers and has received a “phenomenal” response. Sharing details, Arora says the team generally begins with questions pertaining to their background, their dreams, ideas and gradually move towards their area of work, the challenges they encounter, and the pride associated with their job.

“Basically, we try to seek stories that are relatable and are in sync with the idea. For this we frame our questions in a way that gets us to bring out the stories that we believe should be brought to the table,” he says.

However, he says that initially it was a little difficult to “break the ice” and convince the personnel to be a part of the project since “there are a lot of inhibitions and apprehensions in their minds, for they believe they could be targeted for anything”. But, with the support of Deputy Commissioner of Police (North District) Madhur Verma, things got a little easier.

Verma says the idea behind the initiative is “not to claim or boast about how much we work”, but to give out the message that “we too are a part of the same society”.

“The page is for those who want to know about the people who wear the uniform and their daily lives, their schedule and experiences – all narrated in a simple, truthful way. It essentially gives a holistic view of the Delhi Police,” Verma tells Metrolife.

He adds that the initiative has proven to be motivational for the force and has strengthened the pride associated with their work.