What does an IPS officer do? Fight crimes and maintain law & order. Most of the time they are so consumed with their duties that they don’t even have time for themselves. Then there are some officers who believe in real change; they take off from their usual routine and participate in such activities. They connect with people, learn about real life challenges and try to bring about the change. The 2012 batch officer Santosh Kumar Mishra who is currently posted in Police Headquarters, Prayagraj is one such officer.
Teaching Kids
Mr Mishra takes some time out to fulfil his social duties, by teaching the underprivileged children. This started when he was posted in Amroha. Once a boy came to him and said that his friend was not coming to school from days. It was a usual thing in a district like Amroha but, he didn’t ignore it. He investigated and find out that the boy was helping his father in his sweet shop. Mr. Mishra convinced the father to let the boy go to school and made sure that he was enrolled again.
However, this incident remained struck in Mr Mishra mind and he decided that his work was not just confined to maintaining law & order. He started to teach underprivileged children who couldn’t afford quality education. Mr. Mishra himself is great lover of books, as alsa an advocate of “accessto education’’ for every individual. He himself came from a very humble background, and was born and brought up in Bihar. His father was in Army and his mother a housewife. Since childhood , he has learnt and understood the importance of education.
After that one incident Amroha, Mr Mishra would seek out opportunities, in all his postings, to teach children. When he was posted in Ambedkar Nagar, he used to go to the nearby primary school from his office and take classes for kids! He liked to spend time with them, and also had a lot of fun in the process!. To make the students take interest in the studies, he also used to comply with their small demands like giving them sweets and chocolates. In very few days it became a daily exercise for him and he made sure that he won’t miss out on the teaching front.
Leaving Well-Settled Job in Europe for Civil Services
Santosh spent most of his childhood in Bihar. After passing class 12, he went to Pune University to study engineering. After completing the engineering, he was offered a job in Europe with handsome money. He took it and continued to work there for around seven years. He even went to USA in between for his job. However, he was not content with it and wanted to come back to India. In 201, he left his job and started preparing for UPSC. He cracked I tin the very first attempt and was selected for IPS. Since then he is serving as the IPS officer in UP cadre. During his tenure, he has served in Amroha, Ambedkar Nagar, Etawah and Rampur as SP and SSP. He is counted as one of the brightest IPS officers in the state as well as India.
The Book Lover & A Fitness Enthusiast
Mr. Mishra believes that book is a man’s best friend. He always take time out for reading books, and learning from them. He mentioned in an interview once that he likes to read both fiction and non-fiction. Reading books helps him to keep calm and focus on his work. Along with it, he also prioritise fitness in his life. He runs and practice yoga daily. He is a firm believer of the saying ‘More we sweat in peace, less we bleed in tough times.’’
This IPS officer does not believe in being a couch potato. Often, he can be seen leading the police running drill in his area of posting.
