Hours before his retirement function, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) was captured on camera assisting firefighting operations at a residential building outside his jurisdiction.
ACP Vinay Kulkarni, who was till Friday in charge of the DN Nagar division in Andheri, was one of the 446 policemen who completed their service on Friday. Mr. Kulkarni was passing through Santacruz when he saw a crowd gather at Sharayu Apartments on Linking Road.
“On going closer, I saw the fire and was told by the people that an elderly woman was stuck inside. We tried entering the building but found our path blocked by flames. We first tried controlling the fire with fire extinguishers, but that did not work. We then got water in buckets and started pouring it on the flames,” Mr. Kulkarni said.
A video of the incident, which later went viral on WhatsApp, shows Mr. Kulkarni running towards the flames, fire extinguisher in hand, along with three constables.
As soon as the blaze was in control, Mr. Kulkarni rushed inside and escorted the woman, who was stuck on a higher floor. Meanwhile, the fire brigade reached the spot and the fire was doused within 10 minutes.
“I was only doing my duty as a police officer and the fact that the spot was outside my jurisdiction was of no consequence whatsoever. I feel proud to have served my country and my society for all these years, and that wouldn’t have been possible had I not been wearing this uniform,” Mr. Kulkarni said.
The video, which was shared on WhatsApp, garnered appreciation for Mr. Kulkarni. Additional Director General of Police (Training and Special Units) Sanjay Saxena responded on a WhatsApp group, saying, “He is a sincere and hard working officer.”
