HYDERABAD: The Lake police has rescued and counselled 117 persons since January, including women and youth, who attempted suicide in Tank Bund. Most of them were under financial stress, ditched by boyfriends or caught in domestic wrangles.
There are 220 cameras on the nine-km road around the lake that goes past Tank Bund, Boat Club, NTR Marg, Lumbini park and PVNR Road. Hidden cameras have been installed at nine places that have been identified as suicide points. “Our personnel dressed in civil dress stay with the rescued person till an additional team that is on stand-by arrives,” said J. Manjulatha, Lake police inspector.
She said that the staff interacts with the survivors before taking them for counselling at the police station. Most of the young girls who were rescued belonged to other states. “It takes a minimum of three hours to get the victim out of trauma. Sometimes they start abusing our officers before breaking down,” an officer said.
Another cop, who did not want to reveal his name, said that last week a teenage girl was sitting alone in the early hours and crying when the female staff approached her. They took her to the counselling room. When she refused to cooperate for over two hours, inspector Manjulatha consoled her.
Within two days, she called up the inspector and said that she had secured a good job and that her marriage was arranged. The victim who has completed her B.Tech was in love with a cab driver but her parents refused to accept him. Then there was the case of a 50-year-old, a divorcee, who decided to end her life as she was not in a position to educate her daughters and get them married.
After counselling she joined a non-governmental organisation. Her daughters have also been counselled by the Lake police to cope with life, sources said.
