Woman cop plays ‘dhai’ to deliver baby

THE INITIATIVE of Inspector Sabitri Bal has been appreciated in many quarters, including by the state’s Director General of Police Abhay

In a rare demonstration of humanity, compassion and empathy, a policewoman in Odisha helped a guest woman worker deliver her baby in a police van on Sunday. She literally played the role of a traditional dhai or female health assistant in delivering the child.

The initiative of the police officer has been appreciated in many quarters, including the state’s Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay.

Inspector Sabitri Bal, posted at Jharsuguda police station, got information on Sunday that a woman worker returning to Odisha in a Shramik special train was undergoing labour pains. She stopped the train at Jharsuguda station and got the woman into her van.

There was no time to take the woman to hospital, so the police officer helped to deliver the baby.

“There was little time to take her to hospital and the child was about to come out of the mother’s womb. I tore my towel into pieces and used napkins that I had in the van for the delivery process. By the grace of Goddess Samaleswari, she delivered a healthy baby girl,” said Inspector Bal.

She added that perhaps God had ordained her to play “this new role of a health assistant” for a woman in distress. “A woman only can understand the pain of another woman. This is what prompted me to discharge my duty,” the Inspector added.

The initiative shown by the Inspector was appreciated in the tweet by the Director General of Police, “'Today afternoon a pregnant lady travelling by Shramik Express developed labour pain. The train stopped and she was taken in a police vehicle to hospital. However, she delivered in the police vehicle. Inspector Savitri Bal supervised the delivery. Mother and child are fine in Jharsuguda district headquarters hospital.

“I was quite tense as I rushed both the mother and the newborn to hospital because of the bad road conditions. However, we reached safely and both the mother and child are doing well now,” Inspector Bal said.