In a rare gesture of compassion, a civil police officer breastfed a starving newborn who was separated from its mother following a marital dispute.
Moved by the act of M.R. Ramya, Kerala High Court judge Devan Ramachandran wrote to her saying that she was the face of policing at its best. “Dear Officer Ramya, you are, today, the face of policing at its best. A fine officer and a true mother - you are both! The nectar of life is a divine gift, which only a mother can give; and you offered it while on duty. You keep alive the hope of humanism for future in all of us,” wrote Justice Ramachandran.
The judge delivered the appreciation letter and a certificate to the officer, also a mother of two children, through the State Police Chief. Her youngest child is aged one.
The State police also honoured Ms. Ramya by presenting her with a plaque at a function held at the police headquarters recently. State Police Chief Anil Kant presented the honours to the officer.
The 22-year-old mother of the infant had approached the police with a complaint that her child was missing. The police later traced the baby to its father, who had reportedly taken the baby away from the mother following a dispute. The police had launched extensive search operations apprehending that the father might have left for Bengaluru. Later, the father and the infant were traced to Sultan Bathery in Wayanad.
Ms. Ramya, a feeding mother herself, who was in the police team tracking the baby, volunteered to breastfeed after finding the infant in an exhausted state. On examination at a hospital, the blood glucose level of the infant was found to be low for want of feed. The baby was later reunited with its mother.
