A top cop, known as Uttar Pradesh’s Daya Nayak, a character inspired by Nana Patekar starrer Ab Tak Chhappan, is one of the well-known encounter specialists in the country. With more than 60 encounters in his kitty, he has made his place so strong that even the deadliest of the criminals are scared of his sight.
Meet 39-year-old IPS officer Navneet Sikera, a hero of this real world, whose story might sound like an unreal movie.
An engineer turned IPS officer
Navneet hails from a middle class family from Uttar Pradesh. A backbencher in school, he would never sit in the front. “Gradually, I learnt that no one can encourage you to move ahead until you want to do it,” he says. After his schooling, Navneet worked hard to chase his dream of becoming an engineer. He completed his engineering successfully from IIT Roorkee. But one instance changed his life forever.
One day, when his father, a farmer, went to the police station to file a complaint, the police officer misbehaved and insulted him. Navneet was with his father at that time. Deeply affected by the incident, he decided to change the system by becoming a part of it.
“Maan lo toh haar aur thaan lo toh jeet,” says Navneet.
In 1996, he applied for the Civil Service Examination. The zeal to chase his passion grew so much inside him that he cracked the exam in the very first attempt. After two years, he became the Assistant Superintendent of Police in Meerut and started serving the society.
Working for the safety of women
With the increasing crime rates against women and unawareness amongst them, many women would feel scared to file a complaint or even open up about the crimes that were happening with them. That was when Navneet introduced the helpline number 1090 to them.
Today, the women in the state feel empowered and courageous enough to raise their voice against the injustice happening with them. As per statistics, around 573 criminals have been arrested for crimes against women after the complaints were registered from the helpline number.
Killing the notorious gangster
In 2004, Ramesh Kalia was the deadliest don in Lucknow. He would kill anyone who would utter a single word against him and made it difficult for the builders and developers to survive. People in Lucknow were extremely scared of him. Since years, the police were trying to catch hold of him but it was not that easy.
The then Chief Minister of UP, Mulayam Singh decided to make encounter specialist Navneet the SSP of Lucknow. It was because of his tenure in Muzaffarnagar where he had killed 55 dons in various shootouts. It was time to free the city from the holds of Ramesh’s terror.
Navneet came up with a plan. A lady constable and an inspector were dressed as a bride and groom. The team of police officers acted like baraatis who reached Ramesh’s place. It was then that the shootout took place for 20 minutes and finally, Ramesh was shot dead.
Police officers like Navneet make us believe in the system and restores our faith in policemen. His journey has been very inspiring. His selfless job for the society is something not everyone can do. KenFolios salutes this brave hero.
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