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Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Fatehabad, April 8
Her love affair with khaki started in her teens. As a school-going girl, Sangeeta was smitten by actor Kavita Chaudhary, who played the role of an IPS officer in the popular TV serial Udaan in the 90s.
As Sangeeta aspired to be like her reel idol in real life, her father Dharam Pal encouraged her at every step. But Pal, a painter in the Fatehabad police, couldn’t imagine in his wildest dreams that two decades later his daughter would become the police chief of the district where he once served.
Dharam Pal retired from the Fatehabad police in 2010. The same year his daughter joined the Haryana police as an IPS officer. Currently, Sangeeta is Superintendent of Police, Fatehabad. “I vividly remember this wall was painted by my father,” says Sangeeta, pointing towards the conference room of the police lines. “I have seen my father toil hard for us,” recalls the officer. Sangeeta’s eyes light up at the mention of her inspiration. “Kavita’s character in Udaan made an indelible mark on my impressionable mind. Also, when my father used to tell me that IPS officers were like demigods, my resolve to become one grew stronger,” she says.
Sangeeta did her schooling and graduation from Bhiwani and then pursued her MA in Economics. She appeared in UPSC examinations in 2005, but could not qualify. In her second attempt, Sangeeta managed to qualify for the railway services, which she didn’t join. Eventually, in her third and final attempt in 2009, Sangeeta was able to turn her childhood dream into a reality.
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