From the bylanes of Gwalior, this Delhi Police officer has come a long way. The Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service (DANIPS) officer was inspired by her father, who was posted in the dacoit-infested Chambal Valley, to join the police force.
Chauhan, who studied at a boarding school in Rajasthan, had her first experience of Delhi when she was preparing for the civil services examination. “Initially, I did not like Delhi as it was a new place for me and I was missing my hometown Gwalior. Life in Delhi is very fast,” says the officer, who was in the national limelight last year as the woman cop leading the Uber rape case accused out of the Tis Hazari court.
In 2011, she joined the Rajasthan Police force but a year later, she joined the Delhi Police. “It was my destiny to serve the people of Delhi,” says Chauhan.
Her hectic schedule makes Chauhan long for peace and quietude, and the nature lover makes it a point to visit parks and gardens with her lawyer husband on weekends. Chauhan has grown to like the city over the years as she made friends here, and her family too has moved to Delhi.
“The city, though very demanding, has made me efficient and professional,” says the officer, who believes incidents of crime in Delhi have ramifications not only in India but across the globe. While she despairs over the unplanned growth and migration in the city, she is thankful for its green cover. “The city has potential of becoming a world-class city and for that unplanned growth has to be stopped,” she says. Her favourite city spot is the Garden of Five Senses.