In these times of rising crimes against women, an IPS officer has taken a different route to tackle such cases. This entails arming the women with, no not guns and revolvers, but with pepper sprays!
Ms Soumya Sambasivan, the IPS officer and the first female Superintendent of Police (SP) of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh is the one who has launched this campaign. The idea struck her when she was posted earlier in Sirmaur, and she went about implementing it in earnest.
Today, Ms Sambasivan has taught the simple but effective art of making pepper sprays to scores of women in Himachal Pradesh.
‘It is important for women to feel confident’
In Sirmaur, Ms. Sambasivan brought together a group of women and girls and taught them the way to make a pepper spray. This only required four ingredients: chilli powder, pepper powder, refined oil and acetone. As Ms Sambasivan told Indian Masterminds, “I have always believed that developing a defense mechanism in women can be the strongest tool for them in fighting off crimes like eve-teasing. Getting them physically trained is important, but its time consuming. Pepper sprays are already available in market and are used by women the world over. However, in rural areas women are not very much aware about this excellent weapon for self-defence. I think this should be in the must have list for all women, and they should carry it whenever they step out of their homes. Having a spray in their bags will boost their confident. And this is so effective; it normally blinds a person for half an hour or so. There is no long lasting or permanent damage to the victim”
A 2010-batch IPS officer, Ms Sambasivan is currently posted as the Commandant, 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion, at Pandoh. She is known for her quick action against the criminals and solving complex cases. But while she is strict and serious on field, she is quite a caring and jovial person otherwise.
Giving Respect to Construction Workers
Ms. Sambasivan is of the view that moving in the fast paced world, we often forget to appreciate those whose work makes living easier for us. A case in point is construction workers, who hardly get any recognition once they are through with their work. While getting a building constructed for the soldiers in Mandi, Ms Sambasivan did something which not many might have attempted before. She has decorated the entire building with the photographs of construction workers who worked on that land!
Work Stress? No Stress!
As to what motivated her to join civil servants and how she handled day-to-day pressure, Ms Sambasivan replied, “ to become an IPS officer was my childhood dream. I enjoy my work, it is one those rarest jobs that gives you inner satisfaction. And like like said, if your passion becomes your profession then you enjoy every bit of it. Stress simply flies out of the window .’’
