CHENNAI: A 47-year-old woman with mental health issues, undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Alwarpet, stood on the fifth-floor balcony of her hospital room and threatened to jump on Saturday morning. Two traffic policemen on duty near the hospital rushed to her aid after learning about it on their wireless sets and brought her to safety.

Head Constable S Devaraj and Constable G Premnath were on duty at the Eldams Road-TTK Road junction when they heard about the incident. The woman, a resident of Tiruvottiyur, is undergoing psychiatric treatment at the hospital, police said.

The cops rushed to the fifth-floor room and found the hospital staff trying to negotiate with the distressed woman, who was threatening to jump off the balcony.

According to a police officer, Head Constable Devaraj took control of the situation and started interacting with Malathi, addressing himself as her brother and approached her with empathy and listened her out. After gaining her trust, Devaraj continued negotiating with her for over 20 minutes and eventually pulled her to safety.

The woman was then taken to a place of safety by hospital staff, and her family members were informed. The hospital staff and public appreciated the policemen for their timely intervention. The top brass of the city police appreciated the policemen for their heroic act.