A mother’s dream shaped career of slain SWAT constable Kajal

Kajal was four months pregnant when her husband, Ankur Chaudhary (28), allegedly assaulted her on the night of January 22, smashing her head against a door frame and striking her with a dumbbell

Delhi Police constable Kajal, 27, who died on Tuesday, five days after her husband allegedly attacked her with a metal dumbbell at their Dwarka Mor residence, had trained for years to become a part of the all-women Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit of the Special Cell, a goal inspired by her mother’s abandoned dream of joining the police.

Kajal served as part of the Delhi Police’s 40-member all-women SWAT team for nearly three years. (HT Photo)

Kajal was four months pregnant when her husband, Ankur Chaudhary (28), allegedly assaulted her on the night of January 22, smashing her head against a door frame and striking her with a dumbbell. She was declared brain-dead the same night and died on Tuesday.

Family members said Kajal had spent nearly two years preparing for the Delhi Police recruitment process, waking before dawn to train on isolated roads near her home in Ganaur, Haryana, and practising high jump, long jump and other physical efficiency tests at a local ground. She also travelled nearly 40km daily to a coaching centre in Sonepat to prepare for the written examinations.

Her mother, Meena (45), accompanied her every morning to the training ground on a bicycle and stayed awake through the nights as Kajal prepared for her exams.

“Becoming a police officer was my childhood dream, but I could not fulfil it because of family reasons and early marriage. I decided my children would achieve what I could not,” Meena told HT over phone. “I began training and motivating them from a young age.”

Kajal joined the Delhi Police as a constable in 2022. Though selection for the SWAT unit is not automatic during basic training, she volunteered after demonstrating physical endurance and discipline, her brother Nikhil (30), who is also a Delhi Police constable, said.

“Our mother never stopped pushing her dream. When I cleared the recruitment exams in 2018, she used my success to motivate Kajal. She trained her until she also cleared the tests and joined the force in 2022,” Nikhil said. “Even after this tragedy, she wants my 16-year-old brother to follow the same path.”

Originally from Ganaur in Haryana, Kajal studied till Class 10 at Navodaya Vidyalaya in Sonepat and completed Class 12 from a government girls’ school in her hometown. While pursuing a BSc degree at Arya Post Graduate College in Panipat, she met Ankur Chaudhary, who was also studying there. The two later married after securing government jobs. Chaudhary became a clerk in the Union ministry of defence, Meena said.

Kajal served as part of the Delhi Police’s 40-member all-women SWAT team for nearly three years.

“My daughter’s promising career as a trained woman commando was cut short because of greed,” Meena alleged. “Her in-laws’ behaviour changed because we could not meet their demands for a car and cash.”

The all-women SWAT team was formed in 2018. Its members undergo rigorous physical endurance and weapons training at facilities of the Delhi Police, National Security Guard (NSG) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

After training, the women commandos are equipped with AK-47 rifles, MP5 machine guns, Glock 17 pistols and corner-shot devices with enhanced night vision. They are also trained in Krav Maga, a self-defence system developed for the Israeli Defence Forces, a senior Special Cell officer said on condition of anonymity.

Police on Thursday said they have also added relevant sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act to the case and are probing the role of the in-laws in the commando’s murder.