'i want to be a cop like my saviour'

Five-year old Golu was reunited with his mother in a heart-touching reunion on Christmas Eve. After suffering cigarette burns and being hung from the ceiling for bedwetting by his father and

stepmother, the boy now wishes to become a police inspector like the one who rescued him. Golu’s mother, Geeta Gupta, wants him to study and follow his dreams and though she is in extreme

financial distress, promised to work harder to support her son’s dreams. In the handover ceremony, which took place at the Society of Friends of the Sassoon Hospitals (SOFOSH), a non-profit

organisation, on Thursday, Shailendra Gupta (Golu) stated his dreams of studying in an English-medium school and being a cop when he grows up. “I will be a policeman when I grow up. They are

good people and they punish the people who do wrong to others,” said Golu. Geeta works at a small grocery shop in Narsinghpur district in Madhya Pradesh and makes Rs700 per month, with

which she can barely manage to run her home. Yet, she promised to work harder and wants her son to study at the best institute and follow his dreams to be a cop. “My monthly income is too

small to ensure Golu’s dreams. However, I am ready to take up a second job to pay for his education. I will enroll him in the best school in our village so that he will get the best quality

education and study hard to become a police officer,” said Geeta. Golu was deprived of a normal childhood and has faced hardships throughout his stay in Pune. However, he has recovered from

the trauma and his teachers at SOFOSH claim that he is a very bright child. Throughout his stay at SOFOSH, he was the most playful kid and mixed easily with other kids. “Golu has been

through a very traumatic phase during his childhood and was a quiet kid during his initial days at SOFOSH. But, within a couple of days, he opened up to all the kids and shared his story

with us through art. In a very short time he was able to memorise all the names of the kids, his prayers and even the poems we taught at school. He has a very sharp memory and is the most

obedient among all the kids,” said Dipika Singh, vice president, SOFOSH. While Golu wants to grow up to be a cop, his mother is struggling financially to provide her son with good quality

education.