Colour Of Courage

Super-cop Chhaya Sharma, the main brain behind the Nirbhaya case, believes that emotions are part of being human. She talks to Shraddha Kamdar about the struggle to be dispassionate and focused on solving each case

One of the most striking aspects about fire-brand police officer Chhaya Sharma is her friendly disposition. She has a naughty gleam in her eye when answering questions, and doesn’t shy away from letting the real ‘Chhaya’ shine from behind the uniform. Yet, it is not tough to imagine that she has cracked tough cases like PNL Nidhi Chennai scam, the Delhi Defence Colony bank van heist, the Baby Falak case, and the Sultanpuri gang rape case, and has caught notorious criminals like Narender Don and Raju Hakla. She garnered prominence with the Nirbhaya case, on which she and her team worked round-the-clock, since they had only a few vague leads to go with. The 47-year-old officer, who currently serves as the Deputy Inspector General, Investigation Division, National Human Rights Commission, says her family is her emotional anchor. She is extremely vocal on Twitter, and loves spending time with her husband Vivek Kishore, DCP Headquarters, New Delhi.

Did you always want to be a police officer? Which career would you have chosen if you hadn’t become one?