New Delhi, November 11, 2020 (Yes Punjab News)
Telangana cadre IPS Rema Rajeshwari has been featured among 20 women in Vogue India’s Women of the Year 2020 list.
Rema Rajeshwari, who is the District Police Chief of Mahabubnagar in Telangana has been featured due to her performance during the pandemic.
According to Vogue India, she was on the list not only because of maintaining law and order in her area of operation but was also busy building her citizens’ trust in public institutions and focusing on providing credible information to her district to ease the stress of the pandemic.
A topper of the IPS class of 2009, Rajeshwari, who hails from a small hill-station of Munnar in Kerala was the first female IPS officer from the region. Rajeshwari initially served as an Assault Commander with the Greyhounds, an elite unit known for performing dangerous operations through jungle warfare with extremist groups.
She was instrumental in busting a human trafficking nexus during the course of her career. Also known for her community outreach program that has been at the cornerstone of campaigns such as Saving Child Brides, Child Labour Rescue, Legal Literacy for Underprivileged Rural Women and Rehabilitation of Joginis (girls assigned as servants of God, but forced into prostitution as a means of survival), Rajeshwari’s most current initiative, Balyaniki Raksha, focuses on educating rural children about breaking the silence on the sexual abuse inflicted upon them.
As a woman, she is part of just 7.28 percent of the entire police force of India but has also been the driving force of how she would lead her team while fighting COVID-19 crisis.
Talking to Vogue India, she divulged that “We’ve been aggressive in contact tracing and have strict surveillance set on homes of quarantined persons. We’re constantly planning and executing cluster containment strategies and facilitation of essential services. We have to ensure the hassle-free movement of people having medical emergencies while panic management takes priority.”
Apart from above, Rajeshwari has teams that are currently looking into the welfare of migrant laborers. “I have two teams—one that feeds the homeless, stranded persons, and beggars. The second team runs the national highway food bank to feed truck drivers and (stranded) travelers,” she told Vogue India.
Concerned about the well-being of her team especially cops out in the streets, who run a high risk of contracting the virus, she said she was constantly briefing her team and keeping them safe.
“I go around police stations and checkpoints to personally ensure precautions like wearing masks, washing hands, using sanitizer, and social distancing are being maintained. Every alternate day, I review these safety steps through a wireless conference with my team,” she said.
*Photo Courtesy iDiva
