Woman travelling in Shramik Spl goes into labour, forces Bihar-bound train to halt in Odisha

Bhubaneswar/Jharsuguda: The wife of a migrant worker gave birth to a baby girl inside a police van in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district while she was being taken to hospital on Sunday. She has been identified by police as Payal Kumari (25).
Payal was travelling to Danapur (Bihar) from Secunderabad (Telangana) in a Shramik Express with her husband and three-year-old son when she went into labour, forcing the Railways to make an unscheduled stop at Jharsuguda.The officials also sent an SOS to police to shift her to a nearby hospital.
“We were alerted by the Railways about the emergency case involving the pregnant woman’s plight. The train was scheduled to pass through Jharsuguda junction at 2.20pm and not stop there. However, a technical halt was scheduled at Jharsuguda for the woman,” superintendent of police (Jharsuguda) Rahul P R said.
Sabitri Bal, the inspector-in-charge of Jharsuguda police station, reached the station on time to help Payal. “The woman inspector and her staff immediately took Payal to the Jharsuguda district headquarters hospital in the police control room (PCR) van. She gave birth in the police van midway to the hospital,” Rahul said.
Sabitri said the mother and daughter are fine. “We had alerted the hospital staff, who were ready to attend to the woman and her baby. Arrangements are being made for their food, shelter and transport to take them back to their native place,” she added.
Payal’s husband Bal Krishna Prasad (27) was relieved and thankful to all concerned for being prompt in action. “I have been working as a supervisor in a private firm in Secunderabad. Since the lockdown, we have been facing a lot of problems. With no money left on us, we decided to return to our village at Kripalpur in Bihar. We boarded the Shramik Special train on May 23 afternoon from Secunderabad station for Danapur in Bihar. The next day, before reaching the Jharsuguda railway station, my wife went into labour. We informed the police personnel present on the train, who later alerted the officials at Jharsuguda railway station,”
On Friday, the Jharsuguda police had helped a nine-month pregnant woman and her husband reach their village in Balasore district. The couple, who had left Mumbai a few days ago, was spotted walking in Jharsuguda when police came to their rescue.
The delivery of a child in a police van comes four days after a woman gave birth to a girl inside a fire service van during Cyclone Amphan in Kendrapada district on May 20.
(With inputs from Ritesh Sharma)