A 43-year-old woman's SOS to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the Indian embassy in London, the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi and the Delhi police swing into action and prevent her from killing herself.
"If help is not met in next two hours, would commit suicide" was the message emailed on Wednesday night by the woman, who is apparently suffering from some psychotic disorders due to the breakdown of her marriage, the police said.
The Indian embassy in London was immediately informed, which contacted the ministry of external affairs officials in New Delhi and sought quick response as the life of the woman appeared to be at risk, a senior police officer said.
The matter was reported at Rohini's Aman Vihar police station following which the police launched an intense exercise late night to locate her with house-to-house search in the area as she did not mention her complete address in the email and also was not receiving phone calls.
The officer said the woman had sent the email to the prime minister of the United Kingdom apparently seeking help, and sounded to be in an extremely distressful state of mind.
The police officer said the woman has a huge financial burden due to loans and lives in a rented accommodation in Delhi's Rohini area.
"The information reached the Aman Vihar police station in Rohini area. The woman did not write her full address in the mail. Police reached area, but failed to locate her as her complete address was not mentioned," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) P K Mishra said.
Starting around 1 am, the police checked each house in the locality and managed to locate her house after two hours of search, the DCP said.
Initially, the woman did not open the door despite repeated persuasions, raising alarm among the police who called the fire brigade to break open the door, the DCP said.
Within a few minutes of the fire brigade working on the door, the woman came outside, looking fraught with anxiety and fear, the police officer said.
The woman said she was okay and requested the fire brigade and the police to go back, following which most staff left the spot, Mishra said, adding that some staff went inside her house on her request.
Around 16 to 18 cats were found inside and the entire house was stinking, suggesting that it was not cleaned for years, he said.
The woman herself was smelling foul and it was almost impossible to stand next to her, the police said.
She said she used to be a teacher in an MCD school, but left the job due to some personal reasons. She is a divorcee and had incurred some loans a few years ago but failed to pay EMIs for some reason, the DCP said.
The woman refused to give details about her relatives, the police said.
Two psychologists and a doctor were called in immediately to address her problems and to advise if the police should obtain the requisite assent of the magistrate concerned to shift her to the Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IBHAS) for further treatment, the police added.
She was allowed to stay at home and is being counselled, they said.
