Children at the Peddakabadur police station in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh
When a pencil of a primary school student was stolen by a classmate, he decided to knock on the doors of a police station to get justice.
Police officials in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district were surprised when a group of children approached them to register a complaint against their classmate.
In a video, which was apparently shot in February but went viral on social media websites only now, a student of the first standard - Hanumantha - could be seen at the Peddakabadur Police Station in Kurnool along with his classmate, who was accused of stealing, asking cops to solve their "pencil problem".
The video was shared by the Andhra Pradesh Police from their official Twitter account. "Even Primary School Children trust AP Police: There is a paradigm shift in the attitude, behaviour and sensitivity of Andhra Pradesh Police in way of giving confidence and reassurance to the people of Andhra Pradesh," the police said in a series of tweets.
The video shows the child complaining that a boy took his pencil and never gave it back. When the cops ask the child what they can do about the situation, the child can be heard saying that a case should be registered against the boy. All this while, a few friends of the child can be seen standing in the background, laughing at the strangeness of the situation.
The cops were seen engaging in a detailed discussion with the two kids and trying to broker peace, saying that filing a case meant the young accused would go to jail, that bail was complicated and Hanumantha should forgive him "showing a large heart". Not one to be easily convinced, Hanumantha considers the points put forth before adamantly insisting at least the mother of the "accused" should be called.
At the end of the video, the two kids can be seen shaking hands and smiling after reaching a compromise.
"It only demonstrates their confidence on police who cares and serves all sections of the society in a friendly manner. These testimonies make police more responsible in functioning with more accountability and transparency to provide the best services at the door step of the people," the Andhra police said.
The officials said that the Andhra Pradesh Police is number one in SMART policing in the country in Indian Police Foundation Survey 2021.
The Peddakabadur police station had incidentally won an award for the best police station based on parameters like performance, infrastructure, citizen feedback, crime prevention and proactive measures, disposal of cases, detection work, community policing, maintenance of law and order, infrastructure, discipline, approachability, online and manual storage of records.