Mumbai Police makes seven-year-old cancer patient an inspector for a day

Arpit Mandal wages a war each day against an enemy he cannot see but sure can feel. A warrior, a braveheart and all of seven, here is a boy who truly deserves every salute he gets.

Mumbai: Bravery is not always about rescuing damsels in distress and bringing down bad guys. Real life courage has many forms and facets, and it is one such form and facet that Mumbai Police honoured on Friday when they fulfilled the dream of a seven-year-old cancer patient by making him inspector for a day.

Arpit Mandal always wanted to know what it feels like to wear khaki and serve people as a cop. Even at his young age, Arpit showed he had the makings of one because he wages a war on a deadly enemy each day. Cancer indeed can be a formidable enemy but Arpit has never lost hope - praying he could grow up to be a police officer some day. That day came on Friday when he was invited to the Mulund Police Station and made inspector - just so he could fulfil his dreams and so that the cops could honour him for his courage.

The admirable gesture from Mumbai Police won the department scores of fans as netizens online applauded the initiative. Photos of Arpit doing a smart salute, sitting on the inspector's chair, eating sweets and basking in the glory of having a cherished dream fulfilled connected a direct chord with people at large and the cops in particular. Indeed, if his every wish could be fulfilled, it would have been absolutely delightful. Nonetheless, fulfilling Arpit's dream of becoming a police officer still is a remarkable step in the right direction towards police-citizen relations.