Mumbai cops rescue mentally ill woman and starving son

The woman, Poonamdevi Manoj Ram (centre), and her son Princekumar with a cop (far left) and a staffer of Karjat shelter house

At a time when police are busy enforcing the ongoing lockdown restrictions, Juhu officers went out of their way to provide care to a mentally ill woman and her seven-year-old, and eventually find their family. They were separated from their family on April 14 and were found by the police only after four days.

On April 18, police received a call about a child, who seemed to be lying unconscious, along with a woman on the road near Juhu Lane. Duty officer at Juhu police station, police sub-inspector (PSI) Poonam Mirgane, rushed to the spot and noticed that the child was semi-conscious.

"The child seemed to be hungry but could not speak, and the woman was just staring at us and was not ready to come with us to the police station," Mirgane said.

She was finally able to bring them to the police station. "They were stinking as their clothes were dirty, and their faces were covered in mud. Because of the lockdown, nothing was available, but we somehow managed to get them clothes and food," Mirgane said.

Police fed the child and put him to sleep, and tried to get some details, but the woman wouldn't speak. Mirgane said she threw her food at them. They informed other police stations about the woman and her son to check if there was any missing person complaint.

On April 19, police informed the children welfare committee and tried to find them a shelter home. "We visited multiple shelter homes in Chembur, Sakinaka, Khar and Mankhurd, but they all refused to take her in due to COVID-19 and shortage of staff," Mirgane said.

Senior police inspector Mane felicitates PSI Poonam Mirgane

The woman stayed at the police station for three days, and during that duration she tried to escape and once started beating her child. "She would go inside the toilet and stay there. We would get her out but then she would create a ruckus," said an officer.

Senior Inspector of Juhu police station Shashikant Mane then contacted women & children welfare officers to find her a place in a shelter home. They finally did, but one day the shelter house called the police and complained that the woman was not cooperating and creating a ruckus. Officers brought her back to the police station and on April 26, they shifted her to the Karjat shelter house. "During this, we got her RT-PCR test done by paying from our own pockets," Mane said.

Meanwhile, police continued to search for her family and shared her details on social media platforms. On April 28, they learnt that she had gone missing from Kashimira on April 14 and her husband, Manoj Ram 45, had registered a missing person complaint. Manoj spoke with his family on the phone. The woman, later identified as Poonamdevi Manoj Ram, 40, and the son, Princekumar, are at the Karjat shelter house. They will be released after Poonamdevi's treatment is complete.