IPS officer Simala Prasad, who is also a talented actress, cracked her UPSC Civil Service Examination in her very first attempt, and that too, through self-study, without any coaching. But, how did someone who is so inclined toward the creative arts end up in IPS? Let’s find out from the officer herself.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Ms. Prasad talks about her journey into IPS and more.
EARLY LIFE
The daughter of retired IAS officer Bhagirath Prasad, Ms. Prasad was born and brought up in Bhopal. She studied in different schools in different cities of Madhya Pradesh, including Ratlam, Indore, and Jabalpur, apart from Bhopal, because of her father’s transfers.
She graduated with B.Com and did her postgraduation in sociology from Barkatullah University, Bhopal. Owing to her academic brilliance, she received a gold medal in her college.
Since her father was an IAS officer and her mother a writer, she was exposed to the life of a civil servant as well as to creative arts from the beginning. She understood the kind of challenges and exposure that both fields provide.
“I have inherited both my duty and creative parts from them. I observed and understood public dealing, responsibilities, and the contentment one feels when they serve people, from my father, whereas I got exposed to creative faculties, understanding emotions, and expressing myself, through my mother,” shared Ms. Prasad.
LIFE AS AN IPS OFFICER
A gold medalist and a UPSC achiever in the first attempt, without the help of any coaching, she describes her journey as a civil servant, as a wonderful one. Being an IAS officer, her father wanted the same for her, but destiny had other plans.
She was given Indian Police Service, which initially worried her father as he wasn’t certain if she would be able to handle the pressure and roughness of physical training, especially, owing to her soft nature and physical stature.
“The physical training is indeed very difficult, but my mother motivated me throughout. She told me how I wouldn’t ever need an introduction as I would be a uniformed officer. Further, police service is the safest form of service for a woman as you can protect yourself and others by being an IPS officer,” stated Ms. Prasad.
Much to the officer’s satisfaction, she never experienced any gender bias or questionable situations in the service. Nobody ever doubted her capability. She worked on her skills, became professionally sound, and proved her mettle in the service.
SOLVING A TRIPLE MURDER CASE
Talking about a case that gave her immense satisfaction when she cracked it, Ms. Prasad said that it was a triple murder case that she solved in Betul, Madhya Pradesh, where she is currently posted as SP.
The case had been lurking in pending files for over a year when the officer joined the district. She reopened the file and started working on it along with her team. The case was of a married couple who was murdered along with their house help in their home.
Since the couple had no family connection with the maid, the reason to kill her with them was confusing the police. Ms. Prasad started observing all the minute details in the case.
“The person who was being accused presented strong alibis as he had tickets that showed he was in Tirupati at the time. He provided all the documents that supported his alibi,” she told Indian Masterminds.
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
Ms. Prasad went on to interrogate every person that visited the victims’ home that day, including a few of their family members. One of them told her that he saw a pool of blood when he visited their place in the evening and got so scared that he shut the door and rushed towards the village, without informing the police.
On further investigation, he claimed that he wanted to purchase sanitary pipes, which is why he came to their house. Ms. Prasad asked him to take her to the shop from where he purchased those pipes.
“On reaching the place, the shopkeeper informed us that the fellow came to him, the previous day, and asked him to make false bills. We took him in for questioning and he ultimately confessed to the crime. His motive was to extract money from the couple and since they had no children, he wanted them to register their property in his name which led to a heated argument where he killed the couple and the maid because she was a witness to the crime,” she told Indian Masterminds.
The first woman SP of Betul, Ms. Prasad managed to change everyone’s mindset who was unsure of her capabilities, by solving this case in the first two months of her posting in the district. It was a challenging case and cracking it laid to rest all questions and doubts raised against her.
