New Delhi: Seema Dhaka, a woman head constable at the Samaypur Badli police station, has become the first police personnel in Delhi Police to get an “out-of-turn” promotion (OTP) for rescuing and tracing 76 missing children in just two-and-a-half-months. She was promoted to Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) by Delhi City Police Commissioner S.N. Shrivastava on Wednesday.
“From 12 August to 26 October, I have rescued as many as 76 missing children and most of them are girls,” Dhaka said. She was granted promotion under the Asadharan Karya Puraskar incentive announced by the Commissioner Shrivasatava. Under the scheme, the commissioner had set a target of tracing 50 missing children in 12 months period. Seema Dhaka traced down and rescued the children in just twoand-a-half-months. Dhaka, a resident of Rohini Sector 22, said that she rescued children from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, and also West Bengal.
Since the announcement came, her phone has not stopped ringing for a minute. After reading the news, congratulatory messages are pouring in. Moreover, several people have started approaching with complaints and grievances.
Dhaka, 33, was born and raised in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district. She completed her schooling from Bhaju and college from Sisoli’s Smt Mukhtari Devi Tikata Kanya Mahavidyalaya.
Later, she applied for a constable post in Delhi Police along with six college friends. She alone was selected for Delhi Police in 2006. Her first posting was in South East Delhi, and then she was transferred to Aman Vihar Police station in 2012 in outer Delhi. In 2016, she was deployed in the Shahbad Dairy police station and in 2019, she joined the Samaypur Badli police station.
She was also selected for Paramilitary forces and decided to stay with Delhi Police because the “work environment is good and senior officials are also supportive”.
“I was selected for the Paramilitary force in 2010 and I was undergoing training in Assam. Before leaving for the training, I had informed my senior officials and they had granted temporary leave. However, I rejoined the service within three months,” Dhaka said.
She spoke about two most challenging cases. In the first case, she had to travel to West Bengal and in another, she had to travel to Hoshiarpur in Punjab.
In the first case, Dhaka said that the boy’s mother had filed a missing complaint two years ago, but later changed her address. “Using phone number and Call Details Record (CDR) in the FIR, she traced down the mother. The woman was married to another man and he used to beat the boy. Later, with the help of villagers and local police personnel, the boy was traced at his uncle’s house,” she said.
In the second incident, a missing complaint of the mother-son duo was filed by his father. “The mother-son duo was kidnapped and had been taken to Hoshiarpur. The father had received a call from the kidnapper for ransom. Later, I posed as a customer care person and called on that phone number and told the kidnapper to update the Aadhaar card and other details. And for updating the same, they met me.”
Later, the kidnappers were traced and the mother-son duo was rescued. And they were brought to Delhi. She also thanked her colleagues–Head Constable Manoj and woman constable Lalitha–who helped her during travelling to West Bengal and Punjab.
She said, “While we were coming back from West Bengal after rescuing the boy, Manojji and Lalithaji did not sleep in the night. They stayed awake the whole night in order to ensure that the boy did not run away.” Asked what suggestions she would like to give to young girls who wish to join the force, she said, “Delhi Police is a good place to work and seniors are very supportive. If you wish to do something for your society, then the Delhi Police is the best place to be with.” She also regretted not being able to spend time with her nine-year-old boy Aarav and could not concentrate on his studies. Dhaka was married to Anit Dhaka in 2009 and he also works as a head constable in Rohini.