At half-past noon Saturday, I was looking for a
radio cab
after finishing my assignment at a city (Lucknow) hotel in Gomtinagar. As I couldn't get one despite trying for nearly 10 minutes, I took an e-rickshaw after walking a few paces.
My residence is a 10-minute drive from the hotel. While I was busy on a call, I could see the driver looking for a chance to speak to me.
When I hung up, he said: "Madam aap to padhi-likhi lagti hain. Aap chahein to ek ladki ki jaan bacha sakti hain (You appear to be educated. If you decide, you can save the life of a woman)."
Without a pause, the driver continued: "Madam, Alambagh se Lohia Park tak (approx 15 km) woh sirf roti hi rahi. Aur suicide karne ko bol rahi thi (The woman kept crying throughout. She was talking about ending her life)."
The word 'suicide' started reverberating in my mind. More so because the driver said the woman had come from Bengaluru, the city where I spent my college days, the city where I decided to become a journalist. Without a second thought, I asked: "What is the matter?"
The e-rickshaw driver said: "She was talking about a youth who cheated her, fled with her money and that she had no place to go to. She insisted that she be dropped at a park. I tried a lot to console her but she got off at Lohia Park. God knows what will happen now. But I can take you there, if you are ready to help."
I had mixed emotions. While I was keen on helping the woman if the story I just heard was true, there was the thought of being "trapped" as well. When I got off, I asked the driver for the woman's contact. He had taken her number saying he would inform her if he managed to find any accommodation for her. I took the woman's number and assured him of help. The driver also shared his own contact details and requested me to keep him updated.
Before entering my house, I dialled the number. The woman answered the call saying: "Ma'am, I have already taken a full bottle of 'medicine'. In some time, I will die. Thank you for your help. But I don't want to live." She didn't share the location despite repeated requests.
After she hung up, I immediately called my crime-reporter colleague. He advised me to call 112, the police helpline. Not wasting a minute, I followed his words. Within no time, there was a flurry of calls from police stations - Aliganj and Gomtinagar. I shared with them the contact details of both the woman and the e-rickshaw driver.
Every passing minute now filled me with fear and trepidation. The apprehension of losing a life loomed large in my mind. I called an office friend to share my worries. We were planning our next move when I got a call from a 112 police officer. "Thank you ma'am. The woman has been traced and is in Gomtinagar police station. She is safe. They are taking her for medical help," he said. His words came as a new lease of life for me. "Bahut shukriya aapka (thank you so much)" is all I could say.
Deepak Pandey, SHO, Gomtinagar, explained the rescue. "We admire people for calling 112 and helping police in such cases. As soon as we received the call we got active. All our PRVs (police record verifications) instantly got activated. We found her lying in a semi-conscious state at a bus stop on Lohia Path, near Fun Mall. We instantly took her to RML Hospital where she was put on medication," said Pandey.
According to the SHO, the woman is 24 years old, hails from Nagaland and makes a living selling momos. She came to Lucknow along with her friend, who ran away with her money. She consumed some medicine after that. "We are waiting for the woman to get better so that we can talk to her for more details," Pandey said.
(As narrated by Isha Jain; additional inputs from Pathikrit Chakraborty & Arvind Chauhan)
English (US) ·