Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, the first woman to hold the rank of director general of police (DGP) in India, died in Mumbai on Monday night. She was 71 and had been ailing, according to reports.
Kanchan was also the second woman officer to join the Indian Police Service (IPS) after Kiran Bedi. Kanchan was appointed DGP in Uttarakhand in 2004. Kanchan was a 1973-batch IPS officer. She retired as DGP in 2007.
Born in Himachal Pradesh, Kanchan did her schooling in Amritsar. Kanchan claimed to have been motivated to join the police as she had seen her father being beaten up by some people over a property dispute while she was a child. Kanchan said the police then did not file an FIR.
During her tenure in the police and CBI, Kanchan investigated several high-profile cases, including the murder of national badminton champion Syed Modi and the Reliance-Bombay Dyeing case. For her work, Kanchan had received multiple awards including the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1989.
The life of Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya was the inspiration for Udaan, a Doordarshan serial on the life and trials of a woman IPS officer. Interestingly, Kanchan's sister played the lead protagonist.
After retirement, Kanchan attempted a foray into politics, fighting the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Haridwar on an AAP ticket. However, she lost.
The IPS Association tweeted about the death of Kanchan. It tweeted, “We mourn the demise of one of our icons, the first lady DGP and second lady IPS officer of India, Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya. An officer with sterling qualities of head and heart, she had an illustrious career, adorned with many firsts and awards.”
