When 62-year old Girija Ramanathan suffered a sudden attack of breathlessness while driving near Besant Avenue Road on January 17, there were only two persons who came to her rescue — a traffic sub-inspector and a police patrol driver.
Traffic sub-inspector A. Selvakumar and armed reserve constable Raviprakash not only purchased medicines for her, but also admitted her to a nearby private hospital.
On Tuesday, city police Commissioner S. George presented awards to the two policemen.
“As we are on the road, we get to save lot of people regularly. This is what the police are meant for,” said Mr. Selvakumar.
Speaking to The Hindu , C.V. Ramanathan, Girija’s husband, said that on the noon of January 17, his wife was driving back home after dropping their granddaughter at an educational institution in Besant Nagar. “She stopped the car as she felt breathless and signalled to a nearby traffic sub-inspector. He rushed to her help,” he said.
Mr. Selvakumar said he immediately took an autorickshaw and went to a nearby pharmacy to purchase medicines and an inhaler. “But even after using the inhaler, there was no respite. By then, Raviprakash, who was passing by in a patrol vehicle, came to my assistance. We informed her family and drove her to the hospital in her car,” he said.
Mr. Ramanathan remembers how he rushed to the hospital and found Girija struggling for breath. “Her oxygen levels dropped and she collapsed. But the doctors managed to save her after treating her for three hours. The police personnel’s timely intervention helped,” he said.
