‘Star of the Month’ cop recalls his heroic act

For his bravery and also for his policing chops, the official who is part of Kilpauk Deputy Commissioner’s special team was chosen as the first recipient of Star of the Month, a newly announced recognition for city police personnel for exceptional work beyond call of duty, which carries a cash prize of Rs 6,000, a special certificate and a prestigious spot on the cover of the city police magazine.

Saravanakumar had first pushed his bike in front of the kidnappers’ car hoping they would stop, but they dragged the bike for a few metres after which it got disengaged. Then he climbed on the hood, thinking that the gang would stop the car. “When they started speeding, I thought it was my last day because I was just holding on to the wiper. I raised an alarm and a few youngsters helped bring the car to a halt,” recalled Saravanakumar, who is also known as ‘Bullet’ Saravanakumar for recovering about 30 stolen Royal Enfield bikes.

It was not just his bravery on that day that made him the Star of the Month, but also his role in cracking a murder in Chetpet, seizing stolen articles in Vepery and solving a burglary at a construction firm. He was already rewarded by Commissioner Shankar Jiwal after the arrest of kidnappers and was appreciated by retired IPS officer WI Devaram. He was informed on November 5 about being selected as the Star, and collected the special certificate from the Commissioner on Tuesday.

Saravanakumar suffered a minor fracture on his left hand on that day, which took about 10 days to heal. He got the bike repaired at Pudupet and is back on duty, and is now looking forward to see his photo on the cover of the police magazine.

When DT Next contacted him on Wednesday, Saravanakumar was busy cleaning his house in Kilpauk police quarters, which is among the worst-affected in the recent rain. “I live on the ground floor. The water drained today and power supply has resumed,” he said with relief.