Man who couldn’t be SI is now in IPS

Man who couldn’t be SI is now in IPS

Srinath.Vudali@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:11.11.2021

Three years ago, when Sirisetti Sankeerth lost the 800 metres race by a few seconds, his dreams of becoming a police officer went up in smoke, or so he thought.

Come Friday and Sankeerth will now march shoulder-to-shoulder with 132 fellow IPS trainees at the ‘dikshant parade’ of trainee IPS officers passing out from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad. The 27-year-old failed to realise his dream of getting into the police service and becoming a sub-inspector after he failed to clear the mandatory 800 metres run to check fitness of candidates three years ago.

Son of an electrician, Sankeerth, who hails from Bellampalli village in Telangana’s Mancherial district, had earlier cleared the state exam to become a policeman.

“I was supposed to clear the mandatory 800 metres race in 160 seconds. But I failed in meeting the requirement by a whisker,” Sankeerth told TOI.

Having realised that he had to work hard on his fitness, the young man put his dreams on the backburner and even took up a job as an assistant executive engineer in Mission Bhagiratha, a flagship water project of the government, to help his father’s meagre earnings at Singareni Collieries.

“I used to go to the office by 7.30 am and prepare myself for UPSC. My actual work used to be in the evening and I was lucky to be given a desk job. So, I used to manage time by preparing the whole day,” Sankeerth said.

While working on his fitness, Sankeerth also began taking the UPSC exams, but found it difficult to clear. He, however, did not give up.

“It was on my fifth attempt, I cleared UPSC and during my police training at SVP National Police Academy (SVPNPA) I also did well in sports during my training and won few medals too,” a beaming Sankeerth, who ranked 330 in the latest UPSC exam, said.Sankeerth completed his civil engineering from Osmania University and has now been allotted to Telangana cadre.

“It was my father’s dream to see me as an IPS officer. I am happy that I have done it for him,” he added.

Sankeerth and his fellow IPS trainees will now be sent to France as part of the training programme.