A story of ambition, resilience, and redefining destiny—unfiltered and up close.
Suman Mukherjee, WBPS
Deputy Superintendent of Police
District Enforcement Branch, Howrah
Rural Police District
• You moved from shaping minds in a classroom to
enforcing law on the ground—what pushed you to leave a stable academic career
for a far more unpredictable path?
Ans. It was my parents’ dream for me to join the
civil services and I have shared their dream too. Since my academic performance
was quite well, I weighed my options in academia too and to be honest, at one
point of time I was ready to jump into the career of a full blown academic but
Uncertainty and irregularity of recruitment in academia pushed me towards civil
services once again. To me, civil services was the field where except merit
nothing else counts. I believed my potentials will be utilised best if I stepped
into a dynamic career such as this.
• Was there a defining incident or moment that made you
realise teaching wasn’t enough, and that you needed to step into uniformed
service?
Ans. It would be dishonest if I mean to say that the
glory and pomp of the uniform service did not attract me. The televised scenes,
the cinematic shots and the media presentation of the uniform service did
attract me towards the service. The bravery and courage of the police personnel
during any emergency situation, as televised on news, motivated me to do good
for the society. Several heinous crimes also pushed me towards choosing a
career as a police man. Teaching is a noble profession and there is always a long
queue of people waiting to grab the opportunity of teaching as a profession.
But very few willingly accept the challenge of choosing the life of a uniform
personnel member? Why be one of the many when you have the chance become one of
the very few? I wanted to become one of the very few brave soldiers of the
society who dedicate their all to serve.
• How challenging was it to break out of the comfort zone
of academia and prove yourself in a system as demanding as policing?
Ans. As a part of the law enforcement agencies, we
also perform various tasks to mitigate and prevent crime in our society and
that is equally important as detecting crimes. A day in the life of a cop is
never without a surprise and the nature of policing today is so complex and
multifaceted that it requires an all round performance. You have to be a good
orator and a good negotiator to become a successful police personnel member, in
order to gain and build trust among the people. As a person who was shy and reticent
in his younger days, it was quite challenging for me to break the ice and
actually become comfortable dealing with people on a daily basis. I used to
host live talk shows with various members of the art community on Facebook. My
public speaking skills developed gradually when I engaged in meaningful
conversations with people from all walks of life. A person who is well
articulated is more akin to be trusted and relied upon by the people
surrounding him or her. I believe, I owe a lot to those live shows and my
classes with the students that took on as a challenge and thanks to them, I
scored the highest on PT.
• Do you think your background in English literature
gives you an emotional or psychological edge while dealing with crime and
people?
Ans. Yes, it does. The knowledge in language helps me
immensely to draft important reports and articulate myself in front of people
for interaction. Interrogation is a dynamic process and I am in the phase of
learning. In order to be a good interrogator, you have to be a good
conversationist and certainly my skills give me an edge. In my short span of
career, my conversation skills have helped to build up a solid base with my
colleagues and unearth a few heinous crimes as well.
• Law enforcement often comes with moral dilemmas—have
you ever faced a situation that truly tested your principles?
Ans. Since policing is not like the other jobs,
balancing ethics and law is a constant process in this profession. Sometimes,
the conscience takes over and sometimes the practicality of situations wins. So
far, I have not faced any situation where I was overwhelmed with moral dilemma
related to my profession. Yet, I believe, maintenance of professionalism and
ethics in profession are integral to leading a life of dignity.
• Looking back, do you ever question your decision, or
has this transition fully justified the risks you took?
Ans. Despite people’s warnings to me for choosing the
police department, I have not regretted my decision a single day nor I will
regret my decision in near future. Although the work pressure is high, nature
of work is dynamic and sometimes even the strongest are taken down by the evils
of the profession, the uniform is my religion now. I do not see myself in any
other role than what has been assigned to me by the universe. The universe has
a plan for me and this is it. My transition although seemingly heartwarming or
alarming to many, is the best course that I have chosen in my life.