“Police is a good force. No doubt, we have to meet several challenges, but at the end of the day, you get a lot of satisfaction,” says Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kilpauk, K Bhavaneeswari.
Following in the footsteps of her father, who was a deputy superintendent of police, she appeared for the TNPSC examination in 1997 and qualified in the Group one category. Elevated to the IPS cadre in 2006, Bhavaneeswari said she always wanted to involve herself in social service.
Donning the uniform, she found that there were very few women in the force. “However, compared to the other state, our numbers were high in Tamil Nadu and visiting police delegations would be surprised by the fact,” the DCP recalled.
Today, women police have registered their presence everywhere, she pointed out. Be it the control room, helpline, cybercrime cell or traffic, women cops are omnipresent. “From the rank of constables to IPS officers, we are there at every level,” the senior police official said.
Women cops undergo training on a par with men and learn to handle all kinds of weapons, she added.
But the road to recognition was not easy. Resistance came in the form of her male counterparts and subordinates. “They wouldn’t salute us,” she said. “Some of our seniors would wonder whether we would be able to handle sensitive situations.”
But watching them in action, they soon developed confidence in their ability, Bhavaneeswari said.
The DCP counts on her supportive family in meetings the rigours of her job. To aspiring young women, she said the most important factor was cultivating the right attitude. “There will be a lot of challenges. But it is a good force. The government has introduced several welfare measures for us,” she said.