As a small girl, she grew up in a small village by the name of Alkada in Barnala, Punjab. When she was a child her father, who was a teacher, showed him an episode of a serial called ‘Udaan’ on Doordarshan. That episode was inspired by the life of Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, an IPS and DGP of Uttarakhand. This was her first encounter with the importance of Khaki and it pushed her desire to become one
In 2009, Ms Harpreet Kaur’s dream became a reality and she was chosen as an IPS officer of Bihar cadre.
Currently, posted as the Commandant, BMP-05 (Bihar Military Police), Patna, Ms. Kaur is also known as the Lady Singham of Bihar. In conversation with Indian Masterminds, she talked about her journey as an officer and some of her career determining cases like the high- profile Muzaffarpur girls shelter home case.
Clearing the CA
Ms. Kaur completed her school education in punjabi medium. After class10th, she went to Mohali where her brother had got a job, and enrolled for commerce. She completed her graduation from Chandigarh. While doing the graduation, one of her uncles suggested to go for CA (chartered accountant) so, she followed his advice. Talking about it she said, “I was always determined to be an IPS officer. But getting a proper degree was really important because an entry into civil services was full of uncertaintie. So, I wanted to have a plan B in place”, said Ms. Kaur.
Cracking the CA alone demands lot of hard work & determination and then UPSC always test ones capability. So, it was not an easy ride for her given that she was educated in punjabi medium. However, she surpassed all the hurdles and cracked the exam.
Arresting the accused in the shelter home case
It was year 2018 when an audit by Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai highlighted the repeated sexual abuse of girls and women staying in the shelter home of Muzaffarpur. The case draw nationwide attention and the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was hugely criticised for the mishappening. Brajesh Thakur was the chief of the NGO that ran the shelter home and was the prime accused in the case.
It was largely because of of Ms. Kaur (she was then the then SP of Muzaffarpur) that he along with 10 others accused were put behind the bars withing 48 hours. Later, the case was transferred to CBI but unlike other incidents this time the police were appreciated for their work.
Asked about this particular experience she said, “This was a huge revelation and was all of a sudden. The accused was also an owner of newspaper and very influential due to his political ties. It was really difficult to nab him. When the expose happened, only one sub-inspector was there to handle the case. From getting the medical examination of victims to nabbing the accused, it was hell lot of task. We then made a team with maximum number of female police officials. It was non-stopping working for more than 48 hours and we were able to do the primary investigation and arrest 11 accused. The CBI was also impressed with our work. Today, I consider that a great learning experience for myself.’’
Inclination towards community policing
Ms. Kaur first posting was as the ASP of Bhabua, Kaimur in Bihar. She then returned to the same district as SP . Apart from this she has also been posted to Begusarai, Jahanabad, Muzaffarpur etc. Since her first posting was in Naxal affected area, she developed an interest of community policing to bring the tribal closes to mainstream and government.
“Three out of my five postings were highly dominated with tribal population. In those regions, the main target is to establish a connection between tribes & administration. Now, it has become my line of interest and I try to do my best wherever I go”, said Ms. Kaur.
Ms Kaur has started several education and medical camps for tribal people. Her aim has always been to create livelihood opportunities for them.
