BIHAR: For IPS officer Kumar Ashish, teaching is a passion. Apart from teaching schoolchildren from remote villages, this PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, prevents children from falling prey to intoxications or other addictions.
Soon after he assumed office in April 2018 as Superintendent of Police in Kishanganj—a district close to international borders with Nepal and Bangladesh — he chose to focus on vulnerable children, hailing from economically backward families. His campaign for career counselling began at the block level in which Ashish attended classes in schools and educational institutions mostly on the weekends. The native of Jamui district in Bihar, also gave free tuition to students who could not afford private coaching classes for various competitive exams in India.
Today, his ‘SP ki Pathala’ programme message that aims to create good citizens has become popular with school kids in the region. “I always tried to be present in the class. After finishing my duty, I would rush to a school where the children would eagerly wait for me. It also helped me to cement the bond between the police and common citizens,” notes Ashish, who won accolades as many children under his initiative passed school exams with flying colours.
He was felicitated with the state government’s first ‘Utpad Samman’ by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the occasion of ‘Nasha Mukti Diwas’ for his sincere attempts to eradicate social evils, including consumption of alcohol, child marriage and other addictions during his stint as Kishanganj SP.
After having assumed charge as SP of East Champaran district on January 4, Ashish plans to continue his awareness campaign against drug abuse, child trafficking and other social evils at his new place of posting. Since East Champaran is also a border district, the problem is almost the same here. “It hurts me deeply to come across cases of a minor girl or a boy becoming victim to an addiction or child trafficking.”
Ashish has proposed to help paralegal volunteers and women police personnel in the campaign. A list of vulnerable families will be prepared with the help of the panchayat representatives.
He recently launched the Twitter handle and Facebook page of the East Champaran police, which became very popular among local residents, especially youngsters. A helpline number will soon be released for counseling those suffering from depression.
After from his efforts to rehabilitate economically deprived kids, Ashish wrote an article on Bihar’s popular Chhath Puja, which was later published in a book in 2013 by Bharatiya Sanskritik Sambandh Parishad, a unit of the Government of India based in Delhi.