Former Director General of Police

A super-solid partner at home brings a solid professional success

I cleared the civil services examinations on my first attempt in 1970. When I was leaving for training, my mother said, “When the tree bears fruit, it bends towards the ground.” I would understand the meaning of her words years later.

She played a very influential role in my life, because it was she who introduced me to the police and my wife. My mother met her childhood friend from Sialkot in the early 1970s and learnt that she was blessed with a daughter. Both the friends fixed their children’s wedding – that was, of course, my wife and me. We first saw each other at our engagement and second at our wedding on 14 January 1973.

A very calm, understanding and supportive lady, Kamal accepted me as I was. She was the only daughter of prosperous parents, yet she did not complain or argue over anything and since then has taken care of my prestige. I served the Maharashtra police for 38 years and went through countless emotions of happiness, anger, frustration, but she kept her calm and took care of the family.

I remember it so well, when after my training in Mussoorie and Mt Abu, I was allotted the Maharashtra Cadre, the initial days were full of challenges. While I was serving as an Additional Superintendent of Police in Nagpur during the 1973, communal riots brought both Hindus and Muslims on the streets in Kamptee. It was 7 April. The situation was so tense that the police had no option other than opening fire. Only then did I notice an old woman among the crowd. I was young at age 25. I went to her and requested her to talk and stop the mob from bloodshed. The lady gave me a piercing look and said, “How would you know what it means to stay hungry!” I was dumbstruck. With a lump in my throat, I promised her from then on I would eat only once a day until the problem was solved. Trusting my words, she asked all the Hindus to step back. With the Hindus leaving, Muslim too moved back, leaving our police force there. That was perhaps the most challenging beginning for me.

The second most challenging time I witnessed was in 1992–1993 when I was given law and order charge in addition to my duties. With a heavy heart, I saw people burning and dying. It was difficult, but I was somehow able to regain peace. Both Hindu and Muslim communities gave me much love after that. Just when things were in hand, Mumbai serial blasts took place in March 1993. Times were testing me hard. A lot of pressure and challenges from the office at times frustrated me, but those challenges made me strong.

I served Maharashtra Police at various important positions in training, intelligence, crime, anti-corruption bureau, computer wing, etc, and made special mark as the Traffic Chief of Mumbai. I became the 30th police commissioner of the Mumbai police in November 2003 and later rose to become the Director General of Police of the state. I was conferred with the President’s police medal and the Indian police medal by the President of India. I was also awarded the Shanti Doot International Award for restoring peace in Maharashtra.

All this while, Kamal was with me. I was never a romantic hero in her life, yet never did she sulk over it, never ever complaining to me for not being able to give the family my time, but raised our two children, Puneet and Nitasha.

Our son, Puneet ‘Pasha’ has studied Financial Economics from England and MBA from the USA. The CEO of an American Company in Malaysia, he is married to Shefali. She studied journalism from London. They have two daughters, Sanna and Simran. Nitasha, our daughter, studied Fashion Design from Wigan Leigh College. Settled in Brazil, she is married to Manik Jaspal, an engineer-turned-businessman, and has two sons, Kabir and Karman. I am so happy that my mother and mother-in-law – now both in their 90s – live with us.