The CRPF officers who landed in Kerala for election duty were amazed by the selflessness of AP Bapu Haji, an 84-year-old native of Malappuram.
While on duty, a line of single-storey houses near the Adakakkundu Mosque caught their eye. Amused by how eerily similar these looked, Inspector Harjindar Singh – CRPF team head – tried getting information from the only Malayali officer in the group.
After asking around for quite some time, they found that these houses were built by one Bapu Haji for elderly people abandoned by their families. Bapu had reportedly spent around one crore rupees to build the houses that are a part of the Hima Old-Age Home on a three-acre plot of land. Moved by this, the entire team then looked forward to meeting him in person.
And when they finally did, they simply could not stop heaping praises on him for his selfless service to the society. Terming it a priceless act, Harjindar Singh opined that Bapu is indeed an inspiration tor the entire country. He also wished Bapu Haji a long and healthy life.
The team, comprising members who have served in places like Punjab, Jharkhand, Delhi, and Kashmir, were unanimous in their opinion that they had never seen a service model like this elsewhere in India.
The humble being that Bapu Haji is, his response to all the love that came his way was typical of his effacing self.
A few have wealth and others don’t. So it is the duty of the wealthy to take care of those without the wherewithal to do so themselves. I do not want any publicity for my acts of charity. It so happened that these officers called on me one fine morning and that became news. I really did not do anything great. All this has been gifted to me by God and all I do is share it with others.Bapu Haji
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