More than destiny, it was sheer 'determination' that Letika Saran, a 1976-batch IPS officer of the Tamil Nadu Cadre, became the first lady officer to take over as DGP (Law and Order) in Tamil Nadu. So much was she influenced by crime fictions in her teens that nothing short of a career as an IPS officer could have satisfied her ambition and also fulfilled her dream. Saran, in fact, became a police officer at a time when police service was considered very uncanny for females. She, however, didn't mind that and went on for her stride to achieve a rare fete like this.
Saran, however, realises that it is a privilege and not many make it to the coveted post. Interestingly, her appointment has been the most talked about in recent times. Not just because she was one of the contenders, but also because of the others whom she was contending with. Saran transcended upon officers - N Balachandran, Head, Uniformed Services Recruitment Board; R Nataraj, DGP (Department of Prison); SK Upadhyay (under suspension); V Balachandran, ADGP (Vigilance), Tamil Nadu Electricity Board; and K Vijaykumar, Director, National Police Academy, Hyderabad. Accepting the fact that she'll be a lot under 'public scrutiny', Saran knows that there will be a lot of attention and expectations-from media and administration alike-to perform and bring something innovative and meaningful on board. "Quick detection of cases and better regulation will be high on agenda, including public grievances, especially complaints pertaining to women and children will be dealt in earnest," she says.
It is to be noted that Saran is not under the media glare for the first time. During her tenure as IGP in the Department of Vigilance and Anti Corruption, Tamil Nadu, she deposed before a Special Court in August 2000 in the 'disproportionate wealth case' against Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. She quickly reacts that she was only nominated by the court to enquire on the vigilance complaint. She recalls, "This was another case that attracted a lot of media attention, but there are more crucial cases I handled, one of them as DIG (Crime Branch) which includes the 3 bomb blast cases of 1997."
As Saran took over, her office already had SI R Vetrivel's murder case waiting to exchange hands. She says, "The grievances of police personnel have to be taken seriously. No uniformed person should be allowed to meet this kind of fate. The investigation is still on."
She believes that the scenario has changed to quite an extent compared to the 70's and later, when lady officers were given less chances, "but now you have a lady Foreign Secretary, Lok Sabha Speaker and the situation is improving in police services as well as the number of lady SPs in districts and IGs in various zones has increased."
Saran asserts that the Tamil Nadu Police is one of the distinguished forces and its performance has consistently been outstanding as the law and order situation has always been maintained well in the state. "We value our technical and human intelligence, and have best of both. Human intelligence is more prudent as ultimately it is the human brain that takes a decision. I would definitely like to introduce better systems and improve upon the existing ones," she elaborates further.
As she foresees her responsibilities, she also avers that it is not that a lady IPS officer doesn't face challenges. She says, "You have to establish yourself, constantly prove your mettle and show that you are extremely competent. I have never faced any problem in the hierarchy because of our ranking system, but when you are new in services and when you are among your peers, they speculate whether a lady officer can team up with them. And the only way to satisfy them is with good work."
