A teenager who took on the police for fining and berating an elderly man while enforcing the Covid protocol has become the toast of Kerala by standing up for a stranger.

Gauri Nanda, 18, had asked the two policemen why they had imposed a Rs 500 fine on Shihabuddin who was in a queue outside an ATM at Chadayamangalam, Kollam, on Monday. His alleged offence was not maintaining physical distance.

A video filmed by an unknown bystander has been circulating on social media.

Gauri, who cleared her Plus 2 (high secondary) exams on Wednesday, said she and her mother had visited the ATM while returning from a nearby hospital. While coming out of the ATM kiosk, she saw policemen arguing with an elderly man.

“I reacted when I saw a poor man being targeted in the name of Covid protocol although everyone in the queue was maintaining adequate distance from one another,” Gauri, the elder of a day labourer’s two children, told The Telegraph on Thursday.

“I went up to the officer and asked what it was all about.”

Gauri Nanda. The Telegraph

The video clip begins by showing Gauri and a policeman apparently arguing about something but the words are inaudible. She is then heard saying: “You (police) too are standing together (violating the protocol).”

The cop retorts: “You don’t have to teach me; I know how to responsibly carry out my duties.”

Gauri asks the second policeman whether there’s a need to penalise Shihabuddin. He replies: “I cannot touch you since you are a woman, else I would have pushed you away.”

After that, the audio becomes unclear again. Gauri and the policemen are seen talking and gesticulating.

Gauri alleged that one of the policemen used an abusive word while talking to her. “An officer using such a word enraged me and I decided not to tolerate such behaviour,” she told this newspaper.

She said that when she asked why the policeman had used such a word, he told her to check a dictionary and then “come and tell me what it means”. Gauri said she then walked away.

An official at the Chadayamangalam police station said Gauri had been booked in an FIR the same day under Section 117E of the Kerala Police Act (threatening, obstructing or assaulting a police officer to prevent them discharging their duties, punishable by up to three years in jail).

Gauri said a member of the Kerala Women’s Commission, Shahida Kamal, had called her on Monday and assured help.

Kamal told this newspaper: “We cannot stop the police from registering a case, so we only asked them not to include any non-bailable offence. We received a report from the police this afternoon saying only a bailable section had been included.”

Gauri said she had not complained to the women’s commission or the police about an officer using an abusive word because her family and friends advised her not to pursue the matter.

The teen had a pleasant surprise on Wednesday evening when Shihabuddin traced her address and arrived to thank her.

“It was so nice of him to visit me. He promised to support me if I faced any issues over this case,” she said.

Gauri said she wanted everyone to know that “we should not allow ourselves to be cowed down by anyone and there is nothing to fear if we haven’t erred”.

“Gauri Nanda of Chadayamangalam is our hero. The girl has taught us what a model citizen should be in a democracy,” a man named Faizi S commented on Facebook.

Unni Mukundhan, another Facebook user, wrote: “They don’t have any complaints about thousands of people queuing up outside liquor shops.”

Vince KJ posted: “There is no point having several sons. We need just one daughter like this to question injustice.”

Gauri plans to do a BCom at a local college and eventually become a chartered accountant.