Damsel In Distress

This is a real incident and any reference to living or dead is intentional!!

It was in the early 80s of last millennium , when mobile phones were only walkie talkies and TV channels were only Doordarshan.

It was a wintry night in Jayanagar, Bangalore where I lived and was returning home past first movie show time. After getting down from BTS bus at Jayanagar 4th Block, I was walking past the Jayanagar Shopping Complex. The crowd was thin, the wind was cold and lights were dim.

That was when I noticed a young girl in 'dhavani' ie., long skirt and half saree, sitting on a bench, looking at me. I kept walking but looked around for someone who could be her companion. No one was around. She was perhaps in the age group of 15 to 17. I slowed down my pace and looked at her again. She kept staring. My instinct immediately told me that the girl didn't look normal and perhaps a case of either runaway girl or mentally unstable. Either way I decided that I would do something to help.

I spotted a public telephone booth at the bus stand. I dialed 100 while keeping an eye on that girl so that she was not in harms way. "Police Control Room, ASI Shivmoorthy,sir". I knew how Police functioned as my father served in the Police in senior position but in Tamilnadu.

I said "Shivmoorthy avare,(in Kannada, avare, is respectful, like saying, Mr.) I am Krishnan, Under Secretary, in Finance Department, I just saw a young girl, near Jayanagar Shopping Complex on the bus stand side, sitting alone and probably lost. Could you please arrange her to be taken to some women's shelter home immediately. I will also call the ACP of Jayanagar Police Station to follow up. By the way, what is the ACP 's name?" He gave a name and it didn't matter to me. I used the imaginary name of Tamil Under Secretary, because in case the ASI had spoken in Tamil....I was proficient in Tamil. Also when they know that a senior Government is personally interested, they better be careful and no funny or dirty tricks.

After the call I waited near the public phone booth for about 10 minutes, also keeping a watch over the girl. A Police jeep arrived and two Policemen in uniform talked to the girl and took her in the Jeep and drove to the Jayanagar Police Station close by.

Then it struck me that the station had no women constables and realised that the girl was in worse danger. Those were the days when there were no mobiles , no TV channels, no social media, no twitter, no FB.

I ran again to the public phone booth and called 100. Some other ASI answered. I introduced myself as before and asked him to confirm that the girl in Jayanagar Police Station had been taken to a shelter home or whether the ACP had arranged for a woman constable to be with her at the station. I also told him that I would speak to the DCP about it and told him to call DCP, Jayanagar to confirm that the girl was safe in a Government shelter. The ASI said he would comply.

It was midnight by then and only after seeing another jeep coming to the station, I left for home to have my dinner.

I wasn't still fully satisfied because her eyes were staring at me even in my dreams as if to say, Please help!

Next day morning, I called a friend who was my client in my bank and requested him to enquire about the lost girl with the Jayanagar Police. He promptly replied that the girl was taken to a Women's Hostel in the night itself as some 'Under Secretary' had personally supervised everything. My journalist friend complimented me for saving the girl. I told him I was selfish and was helping myself because had if I had not done all that I would not have slept that night and the guilt feeling would have tormented me forever.