The little ones burst out laughing when District Police Chief (Kozhikode City) A.V. George and Crime Branch Assistant Commissioner L. Surendran were unexpectedly called on to the stage to render the evergreen Malayalam song “Madhurikkum Ormakale...”
‘To be or not to be’ was their feeling as the duo had no such experience before. Finally, they made it along with a team of little singers. The event at the child-friendly Town Police Station in the city on Thursday was organised as part of Children’s Day celebrations.
Similar such surprises followed. Ignoring protocol, officers invited students to be the chief guests.
Singer Inham Rafeeq was the luckiest from the crowd as she got the chance to open the event. K.M. Susanna, a Plus Two student from St. Vincent’s Home, was in the chair.
A few other girls too joined the chorus with their felicitations.
Mr. George said the Janamaithri schemes had ushered in positive changes in policing, and that the child-friendly event was one such remarkable change. “We are proud that our policemen could actually demonstrate it today,” he added.
Station House Officer A. Umesh, who coordinated the innovative event, said it was an attempt to unveil the caring face of the police before children and encourage them to interact freely with the ‘khaki-clad’ when they were in need. “There are many who still believe that we are rough, and we never turn up with a smiling face. We wanted to correct it in their presence,” he said. Policemen also handed over colourful balloons to the children and pampered them with ice cream.
Many of them got a chance to appear on stage and sing along with the officers. A few of them also managed to take selfies to sign it off in a different way.
