Hyderabad: City gets first woman SHO in 175 yrs

Lalaguda: The Hyderabad city police department was constituted in 1847 and since then, it did not have a woman Station House Officer (SHO). However, the barrier was broken on Tuesday as the Lalaguda police station became the first police station to get a woman SHO. The first woman SHO, Madhulata, a native of Jagtial and a 2002 batch officer joined the services as a Sub-Inspector (SI) and over a period of time, she got promoted and became the SHO.

Speaking to The Hans India, an elated Madhulata said, "It is an immense pleasure and a moment of pride for me to achieve this feat. It was all possible with the constant support from my supervisors and especially, the Kotwal, CV Anand, who mooted the idea and after scrutinising various files of multiple officers from the department, he had chosen me."

Prior to working as SHO, the officer was deployed at the Special Branch (SB) of south zone. Apart from that, the officer also comes in with hands-on experience of working with SHE Teams and Cybercrimes department. She added, "My first priority in Law & Order will be to reduce the number of cases. Also, I will ensure that women's safety is made utmost priority."

Speaking about her personal life, the officer added, "My father was a farmer and since our childhood, he never differentiated between boys and girls and always encouraged me to pursue the career of my choice. It was because of my father I could become a police officer and secondly, it was because of the Commissioner CV Anand, I could become an SHO. My husband is also a police officer and my two kids are still young."

She further opined that becoming an SHO for the first time would pave the way for more women to dream big. "The onus now lies on my shoulders to encourage and motivate more women to dream big and achieve big and I will keep working towards that goal," she added.