LOVING TO TEACH

The IPS officer known for combating Naxalism is passionate about coaching civil service aspirants

Serving as an IPS officer for over three decades and putting an end to naxal activities is not a thing of the ordinary, and officer Mahesh M. Bhagwat did just that. With an ingenious move of getting a road built at Gangapur in Adilabad district, a hotbed of naxal activities, Bhagwat managed to drive the Naxals away in 2004.

Dealing with risky activities such as these calls for some way of stress busting, and this, Bhagwat does by following his passion — teaching. He holds coaching classes for civil service aspirants.

“I have been doing it since 1995, but for the last two years, I’ve been teaching a bigger group. Throughout the year, we mentor students for the preliminary exam, mains and personality test,” says the Cyberabad CP, who conducts his sessions free of cost. The upright officer believes that putting his heart and soul into his work gives him immense satisfaction. “In the 2016 civil services list, there were around 50 candidates for IAS/ IPS and other services, for whom I conducted mock interviews and also mentored,” he says with a sense of pride.

INSPIRATION

I take inspiration from my mentors who helped me while I was struggling to qualify in the civil services after my graduation. I also worked with Medha Patkar for Narmada Bachhao Movement and the late Dr Narendra Dabholkar for eradication of superstition.

OTHER PASSIONS

Organising cultural activities for the Marathi community in Hyderabad.

ANECDOTES

While organising an interview for the civil services, I came across a candidate who was working as a sub inspector in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, bordering Adilabad district, which was full of Naxal activities. As I had worked in Adilabad district as SP from 2001 to 2004 and launched a programme — Police Mekosam — to control naxal activities, I briefed him on that. Through the Police Mekosam model, we carried out several development activities like road formation, drinking water supply, electricity to villagers, youth excursion tours and employment programmes. In just 3 years, we could control 90 percent of the Naxal activities without losing any officer on duty. In the UPSC interview, the candidate was asked whether he knew any police officer in the country who did extraordinary work in controlling Naxalism. He narrated the Police Mekosam experiment, much to the delight of the UPSC panel members!

I’ve also worked with Medha Patkar and the late Dr Narendra Dabholkar —MAHESH BHAGWAT

This is a series of stories about bureaucrats from the city who manage to balance their passion and profession with ease. Tomorrow, we speak with Radhika G.R, Additional SP, Principal, PTC, Amberpet, Hyderabad.

PROUD MENTOR: IPS Mahesh M. Bhagwat (in red) and IPS Anil Kumar (right) presenting a bouquet to one of his students, Ajit Roy, who got the 900th rank in UPSC 2016 examinations