26 women among 141 IPS probationers to pass out from NPA

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As many as 141 probationary Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, including 26 women, will be passing out of Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel National Police Academy here on Saturday after successful completion of their training.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will review the 'Dikshant' (convocation) Parade of the 67th batch of IPS officer trainees at the academy on Saturday.

NPA director Aruna Bahugana told reporters on Thursday that 15 police officers from Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives will also participate in the parade. These include two women.

She said all 156 officer trainees completed 46 week training at the NPA which includes both indoor and outdoor training. They were trained in various subjects like law, crime investigations, jungle operations and jungle survival.

The average age of the trainees is 28 years and majority of them (80) have an engineering background. Nineteen of the trainees either have MBBS degrees or were pursuing the course when they opted for IPS.

The profile of the trainees show 14 of them have science background while 13 are MBAs.

They will now go for attachments to various law enforcing and security agencies in New Delhi before proceeding to their respective states for practical training. The batch will return to NPA next year for second phase of training which will continue for eight weeks.

During the course of training, the trainees were also sensitised on various issues. As part of this a film festival was organised where documentaries on issues like human trafficking, Bhopal gas tragedy and farmers' suicides were screened.

"The idea was to expose them to different aspects of policing and to show how should they relate to and connect with the different sections of the society when they go to the field," she said.

The NPA also organised seminars where eminent speakers from various fields including Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, scientist Lalji Singh, popular actor Naseeruddin Shah and journalist Ravish Kumar addressed the trainees.

The probationers were also taken to Tirupati during the by-election to show them how elections are conducted. They also got exposure to crowd management when they were taken to Nasik Kumbh Mela. NPA also organised their visits to jail, orphanages, and destitute homes.

Bahuguna said more women and people working in multi-national companies abroad have come back to join IPS in recent years. "They feel this is the only job through which they get exposure to interact directly with people," she said.

Parthrajsinh N. Gohil, who hails from Gujarat, won the Prime Minister's Baton and Home Ministry's Revolver for the Best All-round IPS Probationer. He also won Mehta Cup for Studies.

"I am surprised. I never came for anything of this. I was always into the training and I gave my 100 percent," said the 36-year-old who choose IPS while doing internship after MBBS.

He said he opted IPS as there is no other career which provide such vast scope to do something good for the society.

Bhavana Gupta, who hails from Punjab, has won the trophy for the best all-round lady IPS probationer. She said that parental support is important for women to join the police service.

She said though the training was challenging, an approach to training with open mind and professional support from the academy helped her in doing training successfully.

Sree Abhinav of Tamil Nadu has won the Sword of Honour for the best outdoor probationer.