Delhi's only woman SHO ensuring no one sleeps hungry during lockdown

The 1989-batch police inspector and the only female SHO of the 164 SHOs in Delhi, Aarti Sharma is working round the clock to ensure that no one sleeps hungry in the national capital amidst lockdown.

New Delhi:Unlike other police stations in Delhi, this one in Ashok Vihar is headed by female Station House Officer (SHO) Aarti Sharma who has been working round the clock not only to impose COVID-19 lockdown but also to ensure that no one sleeps hungry in the national capital.

Apart from performing her duties diligently amidst lockdown, the 1989-batch police inspector and the only female SHO of the 164 SHOs in Delhi is also delivering food and essentials to the ones in need.

"The first thing which we did after knowing that a lot of people have come from outside in Ashok vihar- was awareness. Slowly and gradually as people learned about the disease, they started quarantining themselves voluntarily," said Sharma in conversation with ETV Bharat.

Along with preventing crime in the area, she said, adding that our team is working tirelessly to keep a check on people whether they are following lockdown guidelines or not.

Highlighting that social distancing and awareness are the main weapons in the fight against the pandemic, the officer said," We identified the cluster areas where people have to come out for everything whether it is filling water or going for loo."

"We cannot prevent them from coming out but we can aware them and help them maintain social distance while they are out,"said Sharma, who was earlier posted in Maurice police station and has joined Ashok Vihar police station three years ago.

Food is cooked and delivered to around 1000 migrant workers, who have no source of income during lockdown, in Jailer Bagh and Vajirpur areas, she said.

On being asked that how is she maintaining work-life balance in this busy schedule, she said," My husband is well aware of the responsibilities that come along with my profession. The understanding between me and my husband has helped me focus on my work. This is not the first time, cops usually have a busy schedule, it is just that we are more at risk this time."

She has directed police officials to maintain social distance while picket duty and is ensuring preventive measures are followed in workplace.

The officer who feels that there is a dire need of women officials in Delhi police, keeps a tab on the crime-hotspots round the clock to avert any unforeseen situation.

In December 2012, when the Delhi gangrape shook the entire nation, she was posted with the Crime Branch.

With 293 new cases and no deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the total coronavirus cases in the national capital reached 2,918 on Sunday while the toll remained 54.

As many as eight people have recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, according to the Delhi Health Report.