Police academy gets first woman director
Storming a male bastion, 1994-batch IPS officer Anita Punj has taken over as the first woman director of the 126-year-old Punjab Police Academy (PPA), Phillaur.
The premier training institute was established by the British on the banks of the Sutlej river in Jalandhar district in 1891.
Punj was posted there during a recent reshuffle in the Police Department. She assumed charge a few days ago.
State DGP Suresh Arora confirmed that Punj was the first woman to hold the academy’s top post. He said another female IPS officer, Gurpreet Deo, had served as the additional director. “Women officers have proved their mettle in the force. They are assuming larger responsibilities,” he added.
Anita, who hails from Dharamsala, did Bachelor of Laws from Government College for Girls (GCG), Sector 11, Chandigarh. She also holds a Master’s degree in Police Administration.
“My father, who was a banker, was my biggest inspiration,” she said. “He never had gender bias. Whenever I asked permission to do anything, he would just say ‘go ahead’.”
Like many other girls in the 1990s, Anita was inspired by TV serial ‘Udaan’, based on the life of a woman IPS officer.
“As a woman, I felt: Yes, this can be done,” she said.
Keeping a low profile, she said: “This is no big deal. Your work matters more than the posts or ranks you earn,” she insisted.
As the Director and IG (Training), Anita is supervising the transition phase in police training introduced by the DGP.
“The academy has been providing a uniform training curriculum to all recruits, who are later absorbed in different cadres. Now, we have specialised recruitment in various cadres — district police, Armed Police, Intelligence etc. All these require specialised training,” said Arora.
Anita said the new curriculum was being conceptualised. “We have introduced the training module for new recruits in the rank of Sub-Inspector in the intelligence wing. Soon, we will have specific courses suiting different needs,” she added.