Shobha Ohatkar is an Indian civil servant who was appointed as the first woman DGP of Bihar in 2020.
Wiki/Biography
Shobha Ohatkar was born on Friday, September 3, 1965 (age 57 years; in 2023) in Hyderabad. His zodiac sign is Virgo. He completed his schooling in Hyderabad. In 1989, he pursued a Master’s degree in Political Science at the Central University of Hyderabad. When he was a child, his father always suggested him to join the service. After completing his studies, he cleared the UPSC exam in the first attempt and got Patna cadetship for service as an Assistant Superintendent of Police. In an interview, he said that his father was responsible for his success because he always told him to work sincerely and honestly. After he got his post in Bihar, his mother was a bit worried about him, but his father was really confident and motivated him a lot. In 1992, she became the first female ASP which led to many questions about her position.
Shobha Ohatkar when she started the service
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 5″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family
He belongs to a Marathi family.
Parents & Siblings
Shobha’s father’s name is Balram Ahotkar, who is the former excise commissioner of Hyderabad.
Husband & Son
Shobha’s marital status is divorced. His son’s name is Aankesh Ohatkar and his daughter’s name is Akanksha Ohatkar.
Signature
Shobha Ohatkar’s signature
Career
Shobha became the first Assistant Superintendent of Police in Patna cadet in 1992. She was transferred to Pune in 2000 where she worked as additional commissioner of police. While working in Maharashtra, he was also the Executive Director of Safety at Air India. He has worked as SP in 6 districts of Bihar including Darbhanga, Hazaribagh, Chhapra, Vaishali and Deoghar. In December 2020, she returned to Biahr cadetship and became the first woman Director General of Bihar. Until 2022, he is the IG of Home Guard and Fire Service.
Controversy
Air India gave a clean chit to Shobha
In 2016, Air India presented a report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (CAM) and alleged that Shobha traveled to different places and stayed in hotels at the airline’s expense while she was serving as Chief Vigilance Officer (Dy CVO). The ministry sought an explanation from Air India. A senior Civil Aviation Ministry (CAM) official spoke about the report submitted by Air India and said,
The report stated that the HRA was inadvertently paid by the finance department to the CVO who, however, was immediately recovered from his salary when he himself pointed it out. The report clarified that Ohatker’s stay in a hotel in Mumbai was approved by the then CMD until suitable residential accommodation in the city was allotted to him. A total of 31 journeys were ticketed within one year of which only 21 were used for duty travel. That is a trivial complaint. How can someone travel 31 times in a month as claimed. Allegations of corruption are not only baseless and false, but appear to be made with deliberate malice to belittle the honesty and integrity of a senior official.”
Vikas Vaibhav vs. Shobha Ohatkar
On 10 February 2023, a screenshot of IPS Vikas Vaibhav’s tweet about “hearing abuse from Mrs DG every day” went viral on social media. In the video, it appears that he has recorded the official meeting between him and Shobha and shared it on social media. After the video went viral, she was sent a show cause notice by him. He was charged with violating the provisions of Rule 3 of the All India Service Conduct Rules, 1968 and alleged breach of confidentiality. In the notice, it is mentioned,
The material recorded by you in the viral message has been taken into the public domain. It is clear from this that the discussions held in office meetings are recorded by you. This shows your wrong intentions. It also violates provisions related to the Official Secrets Act. IPS Vikas Vaibhav has tried to malign the image of his senior officer by making baseless allegations through social media. His behavior is completely contrary to that of a senior police officer and shows his indiscipline, dereliction of duty and illegal actions.”
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke in support of Shobha and criticized Vaibhav’s actions saying,
You should know this very well, anyone who works in a job, an officer, their job is not to tweet. This is the worst thing. If they have a problem, they should inform their department or senior. They should convey it privately, not proclaim it publicly. This is the law.”
On 13 February 2023, he demanded the transfer and sanction of 60 days leave which he applied for earlier, but he was not given permission by Shobha. On February 16, 2023, the home department also issued a notice to him for his behavior with senior officials.
Assets/Property
Movable Assets
- Bank Deposit: Rs. 55,00,000
Immovable Assets
- Non Agricultural Land: Rs. 1,75,00,000
- Residential Building: Rs. 35,00,000
Note: The estimate of movable and immovable assets given is according to the year 2022. It does not include assets owned by the husband and his (small) dependents.
Net worth
Shobha’s net worth for financial year 2022 is estimated to be Rs. 2.5 Crore. It does not include the net worth of the husband and his dependents (minors).
Facts/Trivia
- Shobha usually works for the welfare of women. He created a committee that provided helpline numbers in Maharashtra for women’s safety. He also worked as the nodal officer for human trafficking in Maharashtra.
- In an interview, he said that his goal was to create fear of the police in the minds of criminals. He was known as ‘Hunterwali’ in Bihar because of the strict action he took against criminals. Once he beat some of the accused who had raped a woman visiting a temple in Deoghar so violently that the criminals became afraid of him, and he was given the name ‘Hunterwali.’
- In an interview, he shared some of the big cases he solved as SP in Bihar. When he was the SP of Vaishali, he stopped riding a triple bike which reduced 50 percent of crime in the region. In Bihar’s Diara area, he arrested a group of 16-17 criminals and in 2000, when he was SP Hazaribagh, he arrested 40 coal mafias.
- In 2006, when he was on duty in Maharashtra, he solved a huge sex scandal in Ahmed Nagar. The case is about the rape of two minor girls involving many big and powerful people. He arrested 26 of them and filed charge sheets against all the accused within 90 days when he was SP in the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW).
- In an interview, he said that when he was SP, he used to listen to people’s problems and gained their trust by working for them. He added that any SP that wants to succeed must gain the trust of the people by talking directly to them.
- According to him, he works 18 hours a day and wants his colleagues to also work hard for the progress of society.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
