Women officers, who joined ITBP through UPSC, inducted in combat role for first time

Of the two officers, Assistant Commandant Prakriti is an electrical engineer, while Assistant Commandant Diksha is the daughter of a serving ITBP personnel.

In a first, two women officers who joined the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) held exam, were on Sunday inducted into the force in combat role, joining it as Assistant Commandants (AC). The two officers, Prakriti and Diksha, were part of 42 ACs (General Duty) and 11 ACs (Engineer) who participated in the passing-out parade held at the ITBP Academy in Uttarakhand’s Mussoorie, in the presence of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Image credit: ANI

Prakriti is an electrical engineer, while Diksha’s father serves as an Inspector in the border guarding force. “My father is my role model as he always motivated me,” Assistant Commandant Diksha said.

Women officers joining the ITBP as officers have served in combat role earlier as well. However, it was only in 2016 when the appointment of women as combat officers through the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) entrance exam conducted by the UPSC was approved.

The CAPFs are under the purview of the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA).

Sunday’s event also featured the release of ITBP’s first-ever book on its history, titled “History of ITBP.” Vivek Kumar Pandey, spokesperson of the ITBP, said no other book was available on its history before the current publication. “It contains historical achievements of the force since its inception. The book comes in English and reflects different facts and facets about historical developments in the force since its inception,” Pandey said.

The ITBP was established in October 1962 in the wake of India’s war with China.