Pune Rural Police Chief's Journey from Medicine to Keeping Goons at Bay

Strategic Insights -

Pratap Dighavkar, the superintendent of police, Pune rural, has a fascinating backstory. He scored high marks in his higher secondary examination but couldn't get admission to BJ Medical College due to a lack of seats. Instead, he became an IPS officer and is now dedicated to keeping criminals at bay in his jurisdiction.

Key Takeaways:

  • Dighavkar joined the police force after being unable to pursue medical education, citing a dispute with his father and a desire to become a fighter pilot as reasons for his decision.
  • He was influenced by the Director General of Police, Arvind Inamdar, to plant trees and has since earned the Indira Priyadarshani award for this work.
  • The Pune rural police have a jurisdiction of 16,000 km, involving 31 police stations with a manpower of 2,268 officials, and are aware of the Maoist presence in the area.
  • Dighavkar has planned to tackle the Maoist problem by increasing vigilance, visiting schools and colleges, and preparing a special squad to tackle the menace.
  • The Pune rural police face several challenges, including land mafias, rising cases of land disputes among families, and the need to develop an Economic Offences Wing to tackle these issues effectively.
  • The police were awarded Rs 19.90 crore by the Maharashtra government for making 788 dispute-free villages and plan to share this award among the villages to improve their basic infrastructure.
  • Dighavkar attended a mid-career training program in Australia with other IPS officers, where they learned about the Australian police force and participated in a peaceful election process.

Statistics:

  • The Pune rural police have a jurisdiction of 16,000 km.
  • There are 31 police stations with a manpower of 2,268 officials in the Pune rural police.
  • The police were awarded Rs 19.90 crore by the Maharashtra government for making 788 dispute-free villages.
  • The special squad to tackle the Maoist menace is being prepared.
  • Over ten Maoists were recently arrested by the anti-terrorism squad.

Sources:

  • DNA (Daily News & Analysis) - Date not specified, but the article mentions 2010 as the copyright year.