National Bestseller
Longlisted for the 2024 Women AutHer Awards Best Author (Nonfiction)
‘A great fighter who accepts no nonsense and is willing to call a spade a spade … (Meeran Chadha Borwankar’s) reputation as an honest, competent and fair-minded police officer preceded her wherever she was posted.' Julio Ribeiro, Tribune
‘What an extraordinary story’ Cyrus Broacha, Cyrus Says
‘Interesting, informative and explosive’ Global Governance News
‘Looks back at (Meeran Chadha Borwankar’s) thirty-six years in service, recounts the changes and what more needs to be done’ Hindu
‘Gripping … vivid and inspiring … a must-read for those who care for law enforcement’ Indian Express
The incredible memoir from one of India’s most uncompromising police officers.
Meeran Chadha Borwankar graduated from India’s National Police Academy as the sole woman of its 1981 batch. From there, she would go on to investigate a long string of sensitive and controversial cases, fighting crime together with corruption and discrimination, never compromising on her integrity. Meeran’s steadfast efforts saw her become Maharashtra’s first female district police chief as well as its first woman police commissioner. She also held senior roles at the Central Bureau of Investigation and Mumbai’s crime branch, eventually retiring as Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development and the National Crime Records Bureau. All through she remained unafraid to critique the country’s criminal justice system, challenging even those in the highest echelons until the rule of law prevailed.
In this candid account of her thirty-six years in Indian law enforcement, Meeran details the sensational cases that defined her career: from the Jalgaon sex scandal to jewellery heists, highway dacoities to communal riots, brutal murders to gang rapes, port thefts to financial frauds, and brushes with notorious criminals such as Chhota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar. As the state prisons chief, she navigated intense media and government pressure while overseeing Sanjay Dutt’s imprisonment and the executions of Ajmal Kasab and Yakub Memon, thereby outlining both the significance and challenges of donning the khaki.
Gripping, thought-provoking and always inspiring, Madam Commissioner is as honest a memoir can get about life as a woman officer of the Indian Police Service. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the uniform and indeed for concerned citizens everywhere.
Former IPS officer Meeran Chadha Borwankar is a recipient of the President of India Police Medal for Distinguished Services, the Police Medal for Meritorious Services and the Distinguished Leadership Award from the University of Minnesota. She specializes in institution building, criminal investigation as well as law and governance. Meeran holds a PhD in organizational management and a Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree from the University of Pune. A Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow of the University of Minnesota, she writes extensively for national and international journals and newspapers. Currently Meeran is on the boards of several academic institutions and serves as Independent External Monitor for the Union Bank of India and National Aluminium Company Ltd. She is the author of Leaves of Life and Inspector Chougule.
