HYDERABAD: Hailing from Haryana and assigned to the Rajasthan cadre, IPS 2019-batch topper Ranjitha Sharma told Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- during a virtual interaction -- that she had to deal with a very sensitive law and order situation during her training, which taught her the importance of being patient. “Policing is an embodiment of patience, courage and valour. If a police office loses their patience, they are no longer a police officer,” she said, quoting Sardar Vallabhai Patel’s words.
Modi lauded Sharma for her performance in the training. “Your achievement would definitely change the public’s perceptions about India’s daughters,” he said. The Prime Minister also advised her to visit a girls’ school wherever she was placed and interact with them as often as she could. “Spend time with them for an hour every week. Just talk to them and listen to them. And also, as you continue practising yoga, choose an open area, where you can start yoga classes for girls. During your free time, you can monitor and guide them,” he told Sharma.
When asked what her goal as a police officer was, Sharma said that making the department more accessible to the public and changing their perception about the police would be her greatest achievement. Sharma, who wanted to be a journalist, said she realised she could do more for the people as a police officer.
Tackling LWE and frauds
When the Prime Minister asked Gaurav Ram Prakash Rai from Maharashtra, who was allotted to the Chhattisgarh cadre, about how he would use his hobby of playing chess in policing, the latter said, “Chess is a game of strategies and tactics. The police, particularly in a hotbed for Left Wing Extremism like Chhattisgarh, would need strategies in their policies to tackle the threat.” He said development was the only solution to curb LWE.
Modi agreed, and suggested that development, social connect and implementation of laws must be employed to reach out to the people. Speaking to KPS Kishore of AP, Modi said the police needed to come up with new and innovative ideas to control cyber frauds and financial scams, which were growing concerns. In response, the officer said that increasing awareness among the public was the first step towards curbing frauds.