By Sujata Jena
Bhubaneswar, April 24, 2020: A Catholic police officer in Odisha has won kudos from her superiors for her dedication and commitment to duty.
Debajani Chhatar “postponed her wedding scheduled for April 27 to remain available for “corona” duty “and make world safer for all the brides. My compliments to her,” tweeted Abhay, Director General of Police in the eastern Indian state.
Chhatar says she had a choice between “the matrimonial bliss” and the call for duty. “I chose the latter,” the 27-year-old Sub Inspector posted at Atthamallick station in Odisha’s Angul district, told Matters India over phone on April 24.
India is on phase-II lockdown from April 15 in a bid to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Hailing Chhar’s decision in a twitter post, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “Thousands of policemen are making personal and family sacrifices joining our fight against COVID-19.”
Chhatar, who came to Atthamallick in January 2019, said she decided to postpone her wedding for an indefinite period as she considers it more important to be in the frontline to fight against COVID119.
“I will do my duty, sir,” she told Superintendent of Police Jagmohan Meena of Anugul while withdrawing her leave application.
Chhatar said her wedding was arranged with Prabhat Nayak of Cuttack months ago. Both families have prepared well ahead for the event and were waiting for it when the pandemic hit the world.
She said she has informed her family that “my priority is the safety and protection of people in my respective locality during the lockdown for coronavirus.
Chhatar hails from a Catholic family from Madhupur parish of Baragarh district of Odisha. She had obtained a master’s degree in science before joining the police academy in 2017.
“I wasn’t preparing to meet the fitness of a police officer before getting the post. I was worried when I faced the test and started to pray to Mary. It was a miracle that I got it,” said Chhatar, who now lives in Angul, some 125 km northwest of Bhubaneswar, the state capital.
Chhatar says she gets all kinds of call to attend. Domestic violence is one of the rising cases during the lockdown. She handles these with fairness, love and compassion, she claimed.
“I make sure everyone in the locality keeps up the social distance, follow the law and order enforced to protect from coronavirus,” she added.
She said she was not scared of contracting the deadly virus, but cautions people against being adventurous. “The dialogue, ‘Jo darr gaya samjho woh mar gaya’ (the one who is scared, is dead),’ does not apply in the current situation. I tell people, please don’t be brave in this situation,” she explained.