bureaucrat of the month

Less stoic individuals generally cave in, but Ghaziabad SHOAnil Kaparwan proved his mettle when he gunned down anotorious gangster of Uttar Pradesh

Thirty-one-year-old SHO of GhaziabadAnil Kaparwan's unflinching resolveto weed out criminality from theheartlands of Uttar Pradesh is a testamentto his stoutheartedness and true grit.For time and again, he has put his life on theline to bump off some three-odd gangsters andproved that heroism does spring out of ordinariness.The unassuming cop is one of thoseevery day's heroes, who've stepped up at actualprime times to brave out the hoodlums and givethem a tough time indeed.

Known for his undaunted endeavours, Kaparwanproved his mettle when he, along withhis team, gunned down a notorious criminallast month in Ghaziabad's Pilkhuwa area, whowas carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 on his arrest.Giving Bureaucracy Today an insight intothe encounter, Kaparwan says, "The gangsterAjay alias Pintoo was wanted in more than 20cases of murder, robbery and kidnapping. Recently,he was accused of kidnapping Sanjay Tyagi, manager of Prime Gold Factory inPilkhuwa. Pintoo, along with one of his accomplices,was travelling in an Indigo car. When theywere asked to stop for checking on National Highway24, they got petrified and in an attempt to escape,they diverted their car and opened fire. Wechased them and in the battle, I gunned him down."

Kaparwan hit the headlines last year too whenhe and his aides sustained bullet injuries during ashootout with another goon, Ravindra Tyagi. Lessstoic individuals would have caved in, but thesuper cop did not give up. The thug was killed butKaparwan lost his dear friend, Paramjit Singh, inthe gun battle. We could feel the choke in his voicewhen he says, "I did receive many accolades formy feat from my seniors, but I could not paint thetown red as the feeling of my colleague, ParamjitSingh being not there was unfathomable. It was adifficult moment." On the bullet injury on hischest, Kaparwan says, "Everything happened in ajiffy and before I could ponder over the incident, Ifelt acute pain on my chest and then I realized thatthe bullet was hit on my chest. When my familymembers heard about the incident, they brokeinto tears. Later on, I had to convince them that Iwas absolutely alright and going strong."

Ask Kaparwan how it feels to be in an occupationwhere life is constantly on the edge and hesays with a smile, "It is our job and we join theforces taking that thing in mind. And I am veryhappy to be in occupation where life is full of challenges."And why did he choose a career in the Police?

"My father was in the Army and I was alwaysfascinated of joining the armed forces. But I couldn'tclear the entrance exam and so I missed thechance. Joining the Police came naturally then,and now I am happy to be here," he says.Kaparwan says that he wants to get rid of the'dented image' tag that the Police Departmentoften carries. "The public needs to remove themisconception about the police department. Thereare many honest police officials who are doingtheir bit to serve the country, but their work goesin the footnotes of history. It's time to recognizetheir good work," he says.