If he removes his ‘P’ cap, a boyish nonchalance comes over his face as you instantly spot his hair loosely playing on his forehead. And as he wears the cap, you can’t escape his round eyes looking straight into you with that unmistakable steel. The two gestures capture his journey from a rustic farmer’s carefree son to a tough but mild-mannered IPS officer.
And his name, Premsukh Delu, completes him. It wasn’t as easy for Premsukh to clear the IPS exams as his confident persona tells you today. “I always remember the famous lines of Karl Marx: If you have nothing to lose, then there is the whole world for you to achieve. If an average student like me can become an IPS officer, anyone who has the dedication and willpower to achieve something in life, can”.
There is no taking away from that spirit as Premsukh broke every chain of hurdles to become an IPS officer in 2016.
The youngest of four siblings of a marginal farmer Ramdhan Delu, a native of Rasisar village in Bikaner district of Rajasthan, Premsukh Delu, at 32, is Deputy Commissioner of Police – Zone 7 in Ahmedabad. He began work only six years ago as a ‘Patwari’ (a revenue officer in state government) to being a lecturer before cracking the civil services exams in his second attempt in 2015.
Recalling the days when he went to a village school, Premsukh distinctly remembers taking lunch for his father and mother at the fields they worked. “I used to take my books along and study in the fields while keeping a watch on animals who often used to venture in the fields,” he recalls, as though it was yesterday.
Delu passed his higher secondary in science stream but later turned to Arts, did not have a bicycle of his own. He also remembers the sacrifices made by his elder brother, who was a constable in Rajasthan police department, and his elder sister who could not study, just because his father could pay only his fees.
“We have just one life. Motivated by watching seniors at work, while I was working as a Patwari, I decided I had to achieve something. I missed my first attempt at the UPSC by a whisker. I attempted the second time and cracked it,” he remembers.
The day the civil service exam results were to be announced, “I was sleeping when I suddenly noticed that my cell phone was continuously ringing. There must be some 50 missed calls. I called back a number, only to be informed by one of my friends that I was selected as an IPS officer. I informed my elder brother and parents. They had tears of joy in their eyes. I had achieved what my family and I had dreamt of,” he adds.
Delu, who believes that as an IPS officer his job is cut out for the welfare of the downtrodden and the harassed ones, has acquired the reputation of a tough cop. In October 2020, he tracked down 11 gang members of alleged notorious land grabber and extortionist, Sultankhan Pathan of Juhapura under GujCTOC (Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime) Act.
Recalling his first day as a DCP, he tells VoI, “I remember the day when I took charge of DCP- Zone 7 in Ahmedabad around 4.30 pm. And at 5 pm, a murder took place in Juhapura area of the city. I immediately sat down with my subordinates and took stock of the situation. I came to know how a few anti-social elements were creating nuisance in the area. We coordinated with AMC (Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation) and made a list of illegal constructions made by such elements. We booked them under GujCTOC and also seized and demolished their illegal construction with the help of AMC,” he adds.
As he reflects on his early life, Premsukh says, “If I had all the comforts of life at my disposal, I would not have achieved what I have. The quest of doing something for society has made me what I am today. This is just the beginning. I strongly believe that working according to the rule of the land, I must discharge my duties and see that the image of “Khakhi” that I wear with so much responsibility is not tarnished”.
He said in March 2021, he had reported to the Cyber Crime police station that a Twitter handle with his profile name was doing the rounds and the same Twitter handle was used to post tweets that could hurt the religious and social sentiments of people. The FIR has been lodged and the cyber cell is waiting for Twitter managers to give the IP address.
