Author: Kavita Bajeli-Datt, Indo-Asian
News Service
Publication: Yahoo News
Date: February 22, 2002
URL: http://in.news.yahoo.com/020222/43/1h1t8.html
Be it scouring the mountain terrain
on foot for insurgents or shooting terrorists down, this doughty woman
in uniform is by her male colleagues' side all the way.
Rajni Sharma, an inspector with
the Jammu and Kashmir police, has won commendation from the Indian Army
chief for her role in an army-led operation where two Afghan mercenaries
were tracked and gunned down in the insurgency-battered state.
Wearing short-cropped hair, 30-year-old
Sharma told IANS with a smile: "My job was to hunt for female militants.
There was a time when they had sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir and the army
was looking for woman volunteers. I was enthusiastic and joined the special
operations group."
Sharma, a graduate who is single,
was in the capital to attend the first national conference for policewomen.
The otherwise reticent cop could barely conceal her enthusiasm while posing
for a photograph with Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani after policewomen
in Jammu and Kashmir were lauded.
"The women police officers of Jammu
and Kashmir are braving the insurgency and have even terrorised the militants,"
said Kiran Bedi, India's first woman police officer and a Magsaysay Award
winner.
Sharma, who joined the force in
1994, says with pride: "During training I was more inclined towards the
tough physical exercises, running and rope climbing. And I stood second
in the class."
That rigorous training certainly
came in handy on May 12, 1998. She had earlier volunteered for the special
operations group, which conducts anti-insurgency operations, and was asked
whether she would join a mission to catch some Afghan mercenaries.
"I agreed immediately. Criminals
are criminals, even if they are women," she said. It turned out there were
no women insurgents, but Sharma nevertheless played a key part of the mission.
"We started at 6.00 a.m. and our
mission ended the next morning. It was tiring, but we did not feel it as
we were a motivated lot.
"There was lot of gunfire from both
sides. As it was pitch dark, it was a bit scary too. But in the end the
two terrorists were killed."
After winning commendation, Sharma
was promoted to the rank of inspector. She is now posted at the high-security
airport at Jammu, the state's winter capital.
"We have a big responsibility as
many VIPs come there. Moreover, there is always a chance that terrorists
could strike. So we have to be alert all the time at the airport," she
says.
