With a goal to be in service of the nation, IPS officer Esha Pandey believes policing can bring equality and inclusive growth in society
New Delhi, March 16
Hailing from a simple family in Bihar and military influence, civil services was a goal well envisioned for IPS officer Esha Pandey. An award winning prolific writer who has authored successful books, Esha Pandey continued her love for writing even after joining the coveted job of police department.
IPS officer of 2010 batch, Esha Pandey is posted as DCP (South East) District in Delhi Police, that has a varied topography of Jamia Nagar, Shaheen Bagh, Batla House, Okhla that witnessed months of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and upscale areas of Kalkaji, Lajpatnagar, Defence Colony and more.
In a special interview with BW Policeworld, DCP Esha Pandey speaks about her journey in policing, shift from the profession of writer to police officer, her initiatives for the administration and law and order in her district.
1) Tell about your inspiration to join the IPS and what brought you into a challenging profession of policing?
I come from a simple family from a small town in Bihar. I got my education in a military school and with my parents aligned with the Army. I always got inspired to wear a uniform. I was a simple student with limited ambitions. My family wanted me to be safe. My parents helped me realize the goal of civil services where I could be in service of the nation. My sister and I started studying together and achieved our goals. My parents wanted me to do something where safety is ensured so policing first made me safe and hence I ensure the women in my city or district get the same of security from police.
2) You handled the first case of Bully Bai app in harassment case in Delhi. Cyber bullying and threats are a major concern and rising crimes against women. What are your efforts to ensure cyber safety of women?
Cyber space has now the most contested and most important space where women are regularly stalked, threatened and criminal activities are high. Delhi Police has therefore started special cyber police stations in each district with specialized staff lead by SHOs who have experience of cybercrime cases. The citizens are being counselled on registration of complaints and how to ensure they are safe on cyber space. We have zero tolerance to harassment of women on cyber space. During investigation, due diligence is carried out and the persons behind the same are cracked with professional and technical resources. The women are being encouraged to speak up against such bullying and approach police as soon as such incident take place.
3) Tell us about the measures empowering initiatives for women in your district.
In the areas of Shaheen Bagh, Batla House, Okhla and Jamia Nagar, we have started several initiatives to connect with the people closely. There is a Shram Vihar area in Shaheen Bagh where we are educating the women and children on various crimes against them, uplift them with more opportunities to work, law and more.
I personally go and interact with the women, hear their issues, be it marital, financial or any other disputes to ensure the women are heard. We tell tWomen generally get apprehensive to approach the police stations hence we hold many meetings with them where they can talk to us directly.
The pink booths have been set up for women in these areas where they can seek immediate help and report cases. We have six pink booths in market areas of Nehru Place, Kalkaji, Lajpatnagar and adjoining areas. We have also deployed women bike patrol for markets and they also go on foot patrol too to keep closer eye.
We are also giving training to women in Okhla industrial areas after which the women also got jobs in boutiques.
4) Jamia Nagar has the first Delhi Police Public Library in the city. Tell us about this initiative.
Jamia Nagar has two police public libraries where young students get to study from books of their syllabus and several important subjects. The library has been set up for police wards and children from weaker sections of the neighborhood areas.
The children who do not have access to books and others who require specialized books get help from these libraries. The library is open to all for access, provides Wi-Fi, laptops, study materials, books, journals, etc., for free. The library also runs coaching classes in association with educators including senior IPS officers and other civil servants.
The library has more than 3,000 books on a wide range of subjects for all classes including law and competition books More than three lakh children, youth have ate taking benefits through facilities provided by these libraries.
5) As DCP (Police Control Room), you supervised the Covid aide to citizens. The PCRs in Delhi provided oxygen cylinder and medicines to even carrying out live deliveries in the PCR. Tell us more about it.
The police personnel in PCR attended numerous emergencies during both the waves of Covid. During the first wave, the PCR aided stranded pregnant women in Delhi who couldn’t reach hospital. The police had to even carry out deliveries in the PCR. What brought me joy was to see male police personnel from Delhi Police carried out safe deliveries and ensured the mother and child were safe. The live deliveries in the PCR will always be a moment of pride for Delhi Police and badge of honour for the policemen who aided the citizens.
During the second wave, the PCRs toiled to ensure oxygen cylinders reached hospitals and homes of people in need. I used to visit the oxygen plats to see the work was carried out swiftly and oxygen cylinders reached on time. In one instance, we brought oxygen cylinders from Gujarat in a nonstop journey in a record time of 10 hours and supplied oxygen to the hospitals in the city.
Esha Pandey has authored books like I Will Meet You There, The Mohanbari Murders, Someone Exactly Like You and Truly Madly Crazily in Love which are popular in fiction genre.
She was Superintendent of Police and Commandant IRBN in Lakshadweep during 2014-16, where she wrote her first book. She has also served in the Arunachal Pradesh Police.
In Delhi Police, she has served as Additional DCP in Central and North District. She was posted DCP Special Police Unit for Women and Children, Traffic Unit and PCR in Delhi.
Esha has a Masters in International Relations and Masters of Philosophy in American Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
Before becoming a civil servant, she worked as a journalist with a leading newspaper in India as Copyeditor. She has won a United Nations FPA Award for Excellence for the "Best Short Story".
A true believer in equality, Esha has been vocal on gender issues and written key articles in media on the women torchbearers in police Manjari Jaruhar, Neelmani Raju, Aruna Bahuguna who paved the way for women IPS officers. She has written several inspiring articles on women issues, crimes and the need for evolvement of the society to bring inclusive growth of women.
