Nagaland IPS officer only Indian in global list of top cops under 40

Pritpal Kaur considers her tribal name given by a Naga community among her greatest honours

GUWAHATI

An Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in Nagaland is the only Indian among 40 police officers under 40 years of age selected for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (ACAP) award for 2024.

Pritpal Kaur, the Superintendent of Police of the Phek district, has been invited to Boston, Massachusetts, to receive the award on October 22.

Ms. Kaur, a dentist who became an IPS officer, had earlier served as the police chief of the Noklak and Longeng districts. She has been hailed for strengthening local communities through innovative projects such as “fighting drugs with education and livelihood and not guns but machines”, which teaches people how to apply their skills to making electric bicycles, dryers, and other low cost machines for farm and domestic use.

Ms. Kaur has received several awards, including the International Inspiration Women Award 2023, Women Power India Award 2023, and Global Women Leader Award 2024.

She, however, considers the tribal name given by the Khaimnuingan Naga community to be one of her greatest honours. The Khiamnuingans primarily inhabit the Noklak district.

“They adopted me and gave me the name Themshao Lam, which is the name of a grandmother who sacrificed a lot for the community and protected them in the olden days,” she said.

Published - October 06, 2024 06:11 pm IST