This Intelligence Officer Doesn’t Let Death Threats Affect Her Duty
Image: HindustanTimes
Have you watched Ajay Devgn’s movie Raid? It definitely wasn’t a super-duper hit in theatres, but there was this particular tagline in the movie that garnered attention — “Heroes don’t always have to come in uniform!” Don’t you think this tagline holds true not just for the reel life but even for real life? This was a movie that was based on income tax raids (high profile ones).
We’re talking of one such Sheroe, an intelligent officer who fought through all the oddities that she had to face both on the professional and personal front with élan just to serve her country. She is Sudesna Sengupta, and her life story is no less than an exciting thriller.
We’ve seen women don the uniform and serve the country. We’ve seen women come out in open and talk about matters that affect the woman gender, and how they’re denied basic rights like freedom of speech, etc. We’ve seldom seen women silently play their role in relieving their country from its problems, right? So, when we came across Sudesna Sengupta’s story, we were inspired and wanted to share it with you. Let’s read about her contribution to her country, India!
Trailer: She carried out an operation to capture a smuggler who was declared wanted in nearly 40 cases. The smuggler was such that he had been successfully eluding the Indian police for six years.
Flashback: Recalling the operation Sudesna says, “After gathering intel, we started the operation at 1 am in hired vehicles as his aides were spread all over the area in Maslandapur (West Bengal). His hideout had multiple exits. At 4:30 am we reached an opening where we had to enter from an iron grill below the door. Barely dogs could pass through it.”
In spite of her team’s insistence that she stays back, Sudesna along with her partner Sudeb Sarkar went ahead and nabbed the smuggler. She says that she just couldn’t miss the golden chance and the gritty officer decided to lead the team from the front (1).
Sudesna is an officer under the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. She works in DRI which handles the combat operations concerning smuggling of illegal goods, trafficking narcotics, thwarting any kind of anti-national activities, and under-invoicing.
Family Support Was The Key To Her Success
Sudesna, who hails from Kolkata, the city of joy, says that her parents, as well as her in-laws, supported her throughout her career-based decisions. In short, she regards them as her core strength in life. Sudesna says that in spite of having a sibling brother, her father always gave her the priority too and never discriminated between the two of them. In fact, her father took her along when he went around West Bengal canvassing the books he published. Her father motivated her to do something enormous for the society she lived in, and for her country.
In a world where the nuclear family is the fad, Sudesna still lives in a joint family where it’s her mother-in-law who plays the role of the head of the family. Sudesna describes her MIL as a fighter as she managed to raise her two sons without her husband as he had passed away 23 years back.
Sudesna is married to Sourav Sengupta who is a table tennis player on the national level. They have a daughter and a son together.
What Made Her Choose The Path That Contributed To The Society
Sudesna says that for her, studies have been nothing less than first love right from her school days. She loved literature but she chose geography for her honors. She was an active participator in college activities which gave her exposure to several social issues. This led her to join as a member of the Rotaractor Club in Kolkata. She conducted drives that included visits to old age homes, orphanages, and rehabilitation centers — this stimulated her to take up human rights as her subject in masters. And this is where it all began — to contribute to society!
Challenges She Has To Face As An Intelligence Officer
She says that it’s always a challenge for her to work day and night while having two kids to take care of at home. Initially, she was given assignments where the accused were females. ‘Lady Officer’ — this title wasn’t appreciated by her and she had to prove herself for a year so that she was given cases that required midnight raids and strength and energy equivalent to a man.
She says that facing threats has become a common scenario now. Most of the threats go by the accused telling her that once he/she is out, even God cannot save her.
She says that the accused when arrested, remind her about her son, daughter, and husband and threaten her that they will harm her family. She says it’s disturbing, but she doesn’t care!
At the end of the day, her contribution towards the nation is her priority. And she surely has stuck by that. Women like Sudesna who dare to do what they love in spite of the sword of danger hanging above their head inspires to not just women but every single citizen of the country. More power to you Sudesna! We salute your contribution to the nation!
