13 years on, city gets first woman police st. incharge

PUNE: For the first time in 13 years, any police station in the city will have a woman in-charge. Police commissioner Satya Pal Singh, on Wednesday, appointed inspector Sushama Chavan as senior police inspector of the Cantonment police station. Joint commissioner of police (law and order) Rajendra Sonawane told TOI that Chavan was selected for the post strictly on merit basis.
In 1998, then police commissioner K K Kashyap had appointed Savita Turekar as the woman senior police inspector of the Deccan Gymkhana police station. After Turekar’s transfer, the police commissionerate has not found any woman police officer suitable for post, citing seniority and calibre as causes.
Chavan, earlier with the foreigners registration branch, will take charge of her new posting on Thursday from outgoing senior police inspector Balkrishna Shinde, who retired on Wednesday evening.
Chavan has the reputation of being a "no nonsense officer" who is "strict and disciplined". Reacting to her appointment, Chavan said she will put in her best and work to curb and detect crime and maintain law and order in her jurisdiction. She also thanked her seniors for showing faith in her. Chavan said her stress will be no solving problems faced by woman and children in her area.
Chavan had joined the state police force as a sub-inspector in 1987. She was promoted to the rank of an assistant police inspector in 1999 and an inspector in 2004. She has worked at Pune, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and State Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
In her 23 years of services, Chavan has received 185 rewards, prominent among them being the ‘State director general of police insignia award’ and President of India award for meritorious service.
During her earlier stint at the CID, Chavan had investigated the sensational gang-rape case of Ahmednagar, which involved high-profile persons. She was posted at the foreigners registration branch between December 3, 2009 and June 30 this year, till she took over the reins of the Cantonment police.
Women inspectors are generally restricted to women’s cells and foreigners registration branches. Some of them were lucky to find a place in the crime branch. But the post of a station incharge, supposed to be a coveted one, has eluded the fairer sex. As it stands now, the top post in all the 28 police stations in the city is occupied by men. Only the Shivajinagar police station has a woman, Maya Bankar, as inspector (crime).
The Pune police has 73 women police officials, including two assistant commissioners of police and six inspectors. Others are assistant police inspectors and police sub-inspectors. Besides, there are 938 women employed as constables and assistant sub-inspectors.
The outgoing inspector, Balkrishna Shinde, will be remembered for his efficiency in detecting the theft of legal documents that went missing from the Pune cantonment court on March 6, 2009. The Cantonment police, during the tenure of Shinde, had recovered a record 26 stolen vehicles which is the highest ever by any police station in the city so far.