MUMBAI: Sub Inspector of Police, Railway Protection Force, Rekha Mishra was on duty in June 2016 at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. That’s when she and her team spotted three scared young girls in school uniforms getting down from the Chennai Express on Platform 15. Sensing something strange with the girls the officer went up to the girls and enquired with them if they were in trouble? Then Ms. Rekha Mishra realised they could not understand her. Immediately the team called a Tamil-speaking person to help translate. Police said, then it was found out that the girls had been kidnapped outside their school in Chennai; they had been tricked into approaching a van, the forced into it. One of the girls bit her captor at a traffic signal that resulted in confusion and taking advantage if it the girls managed to escape. Out of panic the terrified girls boarded a train at a nearby station without knowing it was a long-distance express. Ms Mishra said, “We then called up their parents, and the local police station. “The girls were my responsibility, I felt, so slept along with them at the police station”. 32 year old Ms. Mishra who had joined the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in 2014 is known as a hard-working officer with a track record of helping children at the CST station. Ms Mishra has so far rescued 434 children and 45 children among them are girls. Most of them were kids who had run away from home, often because of being beaten by parents. There are also cases of children who are obsessed with a film star or attracted by rumours of glamour in Mumbai and who run away to see it for themselves, Police say. There are some where they came to meet Facebook friends, and there have been victims of kidnapping too. “Most of them are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar”, “According to my records” Ms. Mishra says. Almost all the children found are from 13 to 16 years old. Sometimes, though, the children are too young and unfamiliar with the world outside their homes it is difficult to even get their addresses and names of their family members from them, Ms Mishra said. In one such case a boy who couldn’t speak or hear had to be handed by us. The RPF had to call in experts in sign language to understand him. Sadly, out of the 434 rescued children she has handled, the RPF was only able to trace the parents of 28; the rest had to be handed over to the Child Welfare Committee for further action. By the end of March 2017 Ms. Mishra and her colleagues had already rescued 162 children. The RPF team led by her expect the number more number of cases to handle in coming months due to school holidays, and therefore more team to roam around, and sometimes they take advantage of the freedom, or are tempted by the stories they have heard of Mumbai, Mishra said. , Senior Inspector in charge of CST, Ajay Yadav said, “Mishra is a very hard-working and dedicated staff member, their staff should also learn a lesson from her hard work.” Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, CR, RPF Sachin Bhalode, said, “This is different type of work, and one has to be very dedicated and needs a special skill which, Ms. Mishra has. This is a very responsible job. On needs to handle cases sensitively. Mishra has done a commendable job and we are recommending her for rewards”, Mr. Sachin said. Ms. Mishra says. “I feel very happy and blessed that God helps me to do such work”. “I ask God to give me strength to help others, especially senior citizens, children, and poor people. I work for around 12–14 hours a day, and I make sure that I go to bed peacefully after doing my duty”, Ms. Rekha Mishra said. ]]>
