Indore: There is no love lost between cops and slum kids. In fact, both look at each other with suspicion, but now a team of cops is changing all this by educating slum kids, which they have named Operation Smile.
Indore SSP Ruchi Vardhan Mishra is also impressed by their work and recommended them. “They are performing their duty and are also educating the slum kids to make them better human beings,” the SSP said.
Police believe that education will help them understand difference between good and bad, and will make them responsible citizens, and will indirectly help in curbing crime. As an additional attraction, the students are also served snacks.
The Operation Smile was started by constable Sanjay Sawre and his colleagues and friends in 2016 and so far they have taught nearly 100 slum kids and steered them clear of the world of crime.
“Slum kids are most likely to become criminals because that is what they see around them, so for us to motivate them and educate them was a real challenge, but we have managed to steer them away from a world of crime, constable Sawre said, who is assisted by a team of 13 people, of whom six are cops, and the rest civilians.
The work has been a success; the first centre was started in slum near Lalbagh and then another unit was started in slum near Khajrana Power House. The cops are not sitting on their laurels, but planning to motivate more people to join the movement, launch this as a regular campaign.
