Years ago, India had three sports champions in the name of Joginder Sharma, Ajay Thakur and Akhil Kumar.
In 2007, Joginder Sharma gave India their first and only T20I World Cup by bowling the final over, whereas, Akhil Kumar gave Commonwealth Games gold medal in boxing and Ajay Thakur played a vital role in Asian Games kabaddi.
Thanks to their great performances in sports, they were awarded a job with police through sports quota which they took with open hands.
Today, they are running on the streets, controlling and educating the crowd about the importance of social distancing.
“I have been a DSP since 2007. This is one of a kind challenge for me as a police officer because of the general fear and I can tell you that I have seen quite a few challenges in my years of service,” said Sharma.
“Our duty time starts around 6am and we do patrolling, making people aware, send those who are out for fun to their homes, help those in need of essentials or medical aid and take action against those who try to defy without any good reason,” he added.
“…we carry masks, gloves and sanitizers for our own protection but for us the best protection is if people don’t come out on streets unnecessarily,” said Sharma.
“My family is in Rohtak, they are always worried for me. My wife and children call me all the time and talk about taking precautions. I salute my wife for managing the house at this time while I am here doing my duty,” he added.
“People are generally cooperative and in any case, essential services are being kept open so there is not much panic. I believe only a strict enforcement of lockdown will be able to halt this virus. People are slowly understanding this,” said Akhil Kumar.
