Meeran Chadha Borwankar is known as Maharashtra's tough and rough supercop, but tales of minor girls forced to sell their bodies to fulfill others' greed tear her apart. "The story of each minor girl rescued from flesh trade is so poignant, it would sometimes become difficult to stay in the right frame of mind," says she, who sealed 22 brothels during her tenure as Pune police commissioner from 2010 to 2012.
Born and raised in Punjab, Meeran was inspiration behind Rani Mukerjee starrer 2014 Hindi film 'Mardaani' on the sensitive subject. However, she refuses to take credit.
"I cannot say if 'Mardaani' was inspired by me or not, but Rani and the director of the movie did meet me," she says.
She also refuses to take credit for sealing the brothels. "It is true that I had sealed 22 brothels under Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA) as police commissioner Pune, but it was only possible because I had a very committed team that felt very strongly against forced prostitution, especially of minors. My team included inspector Bhanupratap Barge and API Vimal Bidve. And we took active help of local NGOs, informers and interested citizens as the issue is very serious and can't be dealt with single-handedly," says Meeran.
It hurt her to see little girls mired in flesh trade. "Most stories could be traced to poverty, ignorance and greed of a few. A well-coordinated and sustained action plan by different agencies is needed if we want to go beyond talking. And one 'mardani' is not enough," she adds.
Born in Gurdaspur, she studied all over the state. "My father was in Punjab Police and later joined the Border Security Force. We travelled with him all over the state during his postings," she recalls. She studied in Fazilka for five years and also in Ferozepur and Faridkot. She graduated from Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar and pursued MA from DAV Jalandhar.
Having left Punjab many years ago, she still feels a proud Punjaban. "Recently, when a friend's son gave me a T shirt with 'Main Punjaban' written on it, it brought back fond memories of my younger years," she says and adds that if it wasn't for her lecturers in Khalsa College, she wouldn't have been an IPS officer too.
"My ambitious father and disciplinary mother encouraged me and my sister to study hard and go in for civil services. Today, my sister, Anita Kapur, is chairperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), but my lecturers in Khalsa College decided that IPS was a good career for me and I didn't want to disappoint them," she says.
Fazilka, the town where she spent most of her growing up years, celebrates her achievements. "She has done us proud and in Fazilka, which had the distinction of the first only-girls school, many young girls aspire to follow in her footsteps," said Navdeep Asija, who runs an NGO to promote the culture of the city.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/One-Mardaani-isnt-enough/articleshow/46214052.cms
Born and raised in Punjab, Meeran was inspiration behind Rani Mukerjee starrer 2014 Hindi film 'Mardaani' on the sensitive subject. However, she refuses to take credit.
"I cannot say if 'Mardaani' was inspired by me or not, but Rani and the director of the movie did meet me," she says.
She also refuses to take credit for sealing the brothels. "It is true that I had sealed 22 brothels under Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA) as police commissioner Pune, but it was only possible because I had a very committed team that felt very strongly against forced prostitution, especially of minors. My team included inspector Bhanupratap Barge and API Vimal Bidve. And we took active help of local NGOs, informers and interested citizens as the issue is very serious and can't be dealt with single-handedly," says Meeran.
It hurt her to see little girls mired in flesh trade. "Most stories could be traced to poverty, ignorance and greed of a few. A well-coordinated and sustained action plan by different agencies is needed if we want to go beyond talking. And one 'mardani' is not enough," she adds.
Born in Gurdaspur, she studied all over the state. "My father was in Punjab Police and later joined the Border Security Force. We travelled with him all over the state during his postings," she recalls. She studied in Fazilka for five years and also in Ferozepur and Faridkot. She graduated from Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar and pursued MA from DAV Jalandhar.
Having left Punjab many years ago, she still feels a proud Punjaban. "Recently, when a friend's son gave me a T shirt with 'Main Punjaban' written on it, it brought back fond memories of my younger years," she says and adds that if it wasn't for her lecturers in Khalsa College, she wouldn't have been an IPS officer too.
"My ambitious father and disciplinary mother encouraged me and my sister to study hard and go in for civil services. Today, my sister, Anita Kapur, is chairperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), but my lecturers in Khalsa College decided that IPS was a good career for me and I didn't want to disappoint them," she says.
Fazilka, the town where she spent most of her growing up years, celebrates her achievements. "She has done us proud and in Fazilka, which had the distinction of the first only-girls school, many young girls aspire to follow in her footsteps," said Navdeep Asija, who runs an NGO to promote the culture of the city.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/One-Mardaani-isnt-enough/articleshow/46214052.cms
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