Bridging police-public gap a priority for this woman IPS

Noida: Shriparna Ganguli, one of the two additional commissioners in the new system of the Police Commissionerate in the Gautam Buddha Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, is very clear about her priorities in her new assignment.

“Bringing the public and police closer in Noida-Greater Noida is the biggest challenge before me here. I believe that as long as the police and the public do not come together, the problems will remain as they are,” said Ganguli.

In conversation with IANS, she said, “The gap between the police and the public here can be bridged by restoring the faith of the people in the system.”

Ganguli, a 2004 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS, was the first woman Superintendent of Police in the Fatehpur district of the state. She also has the credit of being the first Indian woman to hoist the tri-colour on the highest mountain peak of the South Pole. She worked as a documentation executive for over a year under Sam Pitroda in C-DOT in 1990, before she joined the police force.

When asked what she has lost and gained after joining the police force, Ganguly said, “You don’t lose or gain by joining police force. It is a force which makes a person strong and teaches him how to take challenges head on. Some people may have some misgivings about the force, but from my personal experience I can tell you that the police force has always boosted my morale. My heartfelt wish is to end the distrust between the police and the public.”

On the recurring tension between the Noida Police and the public here, she said, “I know what you are saying. This is the truth. It is my first challenge to bridge the gap of mistrust between the public and the police during the posting as a new commissioner of Noida.

The second challenge is to make the traffic system in Gautam Buddha Nagar effective and simple. Within a few days of posting here, I understood that my first responsibility will be to make police accountable and capable to tackle the issues faced by the people. Special training is required for this. I look forward to giving it, she said.

“The public will also have to understand that not all the employees or officer in the police department are the same. Good and bad exist everywhere in the society. We need to understand and get closer by understanding each other. Becoming the first Additional Police Commissioner (Female IPS) in Noida Commissionerate does not matter as much as it is for me to overcome the challenges.”

On being asked that even before her, despite all the efforts of the top police officers in Noida-Greater Noida, the image of the police has not changed much, Ganguli said, “I do not agree with your argument or question. Even if the training of every IPS is the same, but every person’s thinking is different. Who did what before me? What were the results? I don’t want to get into it all that. What will I be able to do for the public and the police in Noida? This is important to me.”

“I believe that police should follow the formula of education, enforcement and engineering. Problems will automatically end. It is very important for the police to be sensitive, alert and pro-active. The second challenge for me here is to make the traffic system smooth and simple.

“For this, till now there were only 50 body cameras for the traffic police in our district. First of all my effort is to increase the number of cameras too.”

Ganguli received the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award in 2016 on the occasion of the National Sports Day. She has also been awarded the Uttar Pradesh Rani Laxmibai Bravery Award and Yash Bharti Award respectively in 2015 and 2016.

“If the police job was not challenging, perhaps, I would never have this inherent feeling to go for the win,” said Ganguli.