CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu was the only state with five women police officers bagging the Union Home Minister’s medal for Excellence in investigation along with Inspector of Police. Four of them were awarded the medal for convicting the accused with the maximum sentence for molesting minor girls. Of the 21 female police officers, five were from Tamil Nadu.
Read about the officers and how they solved cases that led to the medal below.
C Chandrakala: The information of receiving a national medal came as a sweet surprise for Chandrakala who had just returned to duty after the treatment for COVID-19. Hailing from Namakkal district, she worked as a physical education teacher before joining the police force in 2004.
Chandrakala was the Inspector of Police at Jayankondam All Women Police Station (AWPS) in 2017, when a 7-year-old girl was raped and impregnated by a man. "The girl was mentally unstable and was raped when she was alone at her house. Eventually we secured the accused and after 2.5 years of trial, the accused was awarded life sentence," said Chandrakala.
It is for this case that she has been awarded the Union Home Minister’s medal. Speaking about an unforgettable case that she handled, Chandrakala remembers a POCSO case, of a man impregnating her own daughter in 2018.
"I had just conceived my second child then and had met with an accident a few days before the complaint was filed. A inebriated man had raped his own daughter. I had taken maternity leave but I decided to stay on the case until the accused was nabbed. We nabbed him while he was on the run and detained him under Goondas Act. Only then I left for maternity leave," said Chandrakala.
A Ponnammal: This August 15, Ponnammal will recieve the medal for excellence for a case she investigated exactly three years ago.
On Independence Day, three years ago, a case was brought to her in Coonoor AWPS, little did she know, it would bring her a national medal. "A man had raped the daughter of a woman he was in an illicit relationship with. In 2017, the 16-year-old girl fainted during Independence day celebrations at school. We arrested the man and later, in February, 2020 the accused was awarded life sentence," says Ponnammal.
A 2004 batch officer, hailing from Tiruppur, Ponnammal, describes an unforgettable experience when her team had to nab three prison escapees. When three accused escaped from a sub-jail in the district, Ponnammal and team surrounded them in a forest within an hour.
M Kavitha: In 2019, M Kavitha, as an Inspector of Keeranur AWPS, played a key role in the conviction of criminals in four POCSO Act cases which included rape and sexual assault on minor girls.
In two of the cases, the accused received life sentences and in another, the accused were granted ten years life in prison.
A 2004 batch officer, Kavitha, says that the case she is handling right now will be her unforgettable one. "A 16-year-old boy was raped and brutally murdered by a man from Gujarat. The case is under trial but we are confident that the accused will be awarded life sentence if not death sentence," says M Kavitha.
A Kala: Kala, worked as a Social Science teacher in a Government School in Ariyalur before joining the police force.
A 2004 batch officer hailing from Ariyalur played an important role in the arrest and conviction of a man for attempting to rape a Class 9 girl. The accused who molested the minor girl had threatened the girl’s family with influence and money, to not register a case.
The incident that happened in 2018 eventually led to the conviction of the man.
G Janci Rani: A 2004 batch police officer, solved a murder case which was initially claimed to be a suicide and got death sentence for two people. “In 2018, a woman and her lover killed the woman’s husband and burnt him.
They had staged it as a suicide but after post mortem, we found it was a murder and arrested them. In 2020, the duo were awarded life sentences,” said Janci Rani.
T Vinoth Kumar: The month of August brought double dhamaka for Vinoth Kumar -- a promotion as Inspector of Police and a Union Home Minister’s medal.
A 2008 batch officer hailing from Chennai, Vinoth Kumar is a Biotechnology graduate. As part of the Cyber Crime branch of the Central Crime Branch, Chennai, Vinoth Kumar played a key role in nabbing several online scams.
He was awarded the medal for excellence in investigation for using innovative methods, filing prompt charge sheets, and applying the use of scientific aid and forensic tools in solving criminal cases.
“We arrested four Nigerians for creating an online lottery scam, where they would send a phishing email or message people and swindle lakhs of rupees. After the arrest of those four men, the complaints of online lottery scam reduced drastically,” said Vinoth Kumar.