Alert Naigaon cops talk women, girl out of committing suicide, all in 14 days

They were able to save the victims by rushing to the spot in no time and engaging the victims in conversation till they abandoned their attempt at suicide

MUMBAI: Two young policemen attached to the Naigaon police station in Vasai managed to save the lives of a girl and two women who attempted suicide over domestic issues in the past fortnight. The policemen were on patrolling duty when they received calls routed from the police helpline, 112, informing them of the cases. They were able to save the victims by rushing to the spot in no time and engaging the victims in conversation till they abandoned their attempt at suicide.

Two young policemen attached to the Naigaon police station in Vasai managed to save the lives of a girl and two women who attempted suicide. (HT File)

Constable Santosh Ghuge saved two of them – a 16-year-old girl and 21-year-old woman – before they could hang themselves while assistant police inspector Balaram Palkar saved the third person – a 24-year-old woman who had hanged herself – by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

On Wednesday, at around 9am, Ghuge received a call through the police helpline 112. The caller told him that her daughter, 16, had locked herself inside their apartment in Red Rose building and was trying to hang herself. “The mother sounded extremely scared, so I rushed to the spot,” he said.

On reaching the spot around five minutes later, he found the mother standing outside the apartment, crying and desperately knocking on the door. He broke open the door forcibly and found the girl standing atop a washing machine, trying to tie a dupatta around her neck.

The constable engaged the girl in conversation, asking her about the reasons for taking the extreme step. She said she had had a fight with her mother over incomplete household chores and wanted to end her life to teach her mother a lesson.

“I told her that her mother did not want to upset her and only meant well,” he told HT, recalling his 15-minute-long conversation with her. The constable also adopted a stern approach during this period, telling the girl multiple times that she could be arrested, till she agreed to climb down from the washing machine.

The mother-daughter duo was then taken to the police station and counselled. “We have asked the two to attend counselling sessions to resolve their conflict and make sure such an incident does not happen again,” said a police officer from Naigaon police station.

Ten days prior to this, Ghuge saved the life of another woman who was trying to jump off the balcony of the 13th floor apartment she shared with her husband after a fight between the couple.

Residents of Nakshatra Pradise building, where the couple lived, called the police helpline, saying they had been fighting loudly for a long time and the woman was now standing on the ledge of the balcony, trying to commit suicide.

Ghuge, who received the call, rushed to the spot and engaged the 37-year-old woman in conversation after reaching their apartment. He asked her why she had been fighting with her husband and as she was responding, he entered the balcony claiming he wanted to check the height of the building. He then suddenly grabbed her and pulled her back inside the house, saving her life.

“The couple has been referred for counselling,” said the police officer from Naigaon police station.

In the third case, on September 13, inspector Balaram Palkar received a call from Mhatrewadi chawl in Juchandra area in Naigaon East, with the caller saying a 24-year-old woman had hanged herself following a marital dispute.

Palkar rushed to the woman’s house in less than two minutes, and found her body was cold to touch.

“I immediately checked her pulse, called an ambulance and administered CPR, which revived her,” said Palkar.

The woman was rushed to the hospital where she regained consciousness after three days and is still undergoing treatment.