Madam Commissioner – Hardback

The incredible memoir from one of Indias most uncompromising police officers.

Meeran Chadha Borwankar graduated from Indias National Police Academy as the sole woman of its 1981 batch. From there, she would go on to investigate a long string of sensitive and controversial cases, fighting crime together with corruption and discrimination, never compromising on her integrity. Meerans steadfast efforts saw her become Maharashtras first female district police chief as well as its first woman police commissioner. She also held senior roles at the Central Bureau of Investigation and Mumbais crime branch, eventually retiring as Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development and the National Crime Records Bureau. All through she remained unafraid to critique the countrys criminal justice system, challenging even those in the highest echelons until the rule of law prevailed.

In this candid account of her thirty-six years in Indian law enforcement, Meeran details the sensational cases that defined her career: from the Jalgaon sex scandal to jewellery heists, highway dacoities to communal riots, brutal murders to gang rapes, port thefts to financial frauds, and brushes with notorious criminals such as Chhota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahims sister Haseena Parkar. As the state prisons chief, she navigated intense media and government pressure while overseeing Sanjay Dutts imprisonment and the executions of Ajmal Kasab and Yakub Memon, thereby outlining both the significance and challenges of donning the khaki.

Gripping, thought-provoking and always inspiring,Madam Commissioneris as honest a memoir can get about life as a woman officer of the Indian Police Service. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the uniform and indeed for concerned citizens everywhere.