Ranchi
From overcoming the odds their humble backgrounds posed in their childhood to excelling as athletes; from being appointed as police constables to becoming IPS officers now — the two women share similarities that are too blatant to be ignored. It is as if they planned and coordinated to achieve each milestone in pairs.
Meet Sarojini Lakra and Emelda Ekka. The two Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP) were recently elevated to the Indian Police Service (IPS) cadre having first been appointed as Constables way back in 1986 in undivided Bihar for their achievements in sports for the State.
Both Sarojini and Emelda, now aged about 56 years, were born in two different villages but in the same Latehar (erstwhile Palamu) district. While Sarojini’s father was a middle school teacher, Emelda’s father was a marginal farmer, who passed away when she was studying in the fourth grade.
Sarojini was the fourth among two brothers and four sisters. Emelda too was the fourth among four sisters and one brother. And both had inherent athleticism. “We used to run nearly 5 kms barefooted every day to reach our schools in time,” they, say as they share their life’s journey with The Indian Tribal.
Later, in what would change their lives in the long run, they both enrolled in the St Teresa Girls High School in Mahudand in Latehar and stayed in the school hostel. Affording their school education was very difficult for their poor parents, not to speak of providing them sports kits, nutritious diets and other amenities. But that didn’t deter them from actively participating in sports activities and bagging prizes.
“In Class VIII, I bagged Rs 200 cash reward. My father bought a cow with the prize money. I used to feel hungry in school hostel and often loitered here and there. One of my close friends who had joined a sports academy nearby used to hide two chapattis and some bhujia and bring them for me,” recalls Sarojini, reminiscing her initial days.
However, Sarojini and Emelda were soon spotted by athletics coach Robert Kispotta, who admitted them to his sports academy in Mahuadand, where food and accommodation were free. Under Kispotta’s guidance they soon went on to represent their school, district and State in various sports events and bagged several medals.
As a track and field athlete, Sarojini had won her first medal in 1984 in Delhi in Javelin throw, which caught the nation’s attention only in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when Neeraj Chopra created history by winning the Gold.
The two got separated after completing school education. Sarojini enrolled herself in Jamshedpur Women’s College and Emelda joined Ranchi Women’s College. But, sports remained their real passion. Emelda often ran to the then Bihar Military Police grounds (now Jharkhand Armed Police) in Doranda from her hostel in Burdwan Compound, almost 7 kms one way, to attend practice sessions.
Fate brought them together again as they joined the Ranchi District Police force in 1986 as Constables under the sports quota for women. But, they did not abandon their studies midway despite their ‘demanding’ job and secured their graduation degrees from Ranchi University.
“I formally inducted these girls to my police team and they have really made each of us feel proud,” boasts State’s Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon, who was then Ranchi’s Senior Superintendent of Police.
After joining the police, they never looked back. They went on to represent the police at various national and international events and fetched laurels. Sarojini also excelled in 100 m hurdles, 100×400 m relay, high jump, long jump and heptathlon winning scores of medals. For her part, Emelda sprinted in 100m, 200m and 400m besides relays making podium finishes. For this, they were even granted out-of-turn promotions and made Inspectors in 1991. Then again, both together got promoted as DSPs in 2008.
After serving the State police in different positions and capacities, they were formally inducted into the Indian Police Service a couple of weeks ago with “retrospective effect” from 2017. Currently, Sarojini is SP (Wireless) and Emelda is SP Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Meanwhile, both of them completed their athletic coaching diploma courses from Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Sarojini also completed advanced diploma courses in Sports Science and German language from Johannes Gutengerg University in Germany.
While the sporting lives of the two tribal IPS officers have almost been similar, their personal lives haven’t been. Interestingly though, both have two children.
Sarojini is legally separated from her husband and is content bringing up her two daughters. While the older one is pursuing her Mass Communication degree course, the younger one is studying in a reputed school.
Emelda married a Sub-Inspector of police in 1999 while she herself was an Inspector. Now her husband Rajesh Kujur is a Deputy Superintendent of Police posted in Latehar district. But, she dares anyone to ‘hoot out’ her husband as her junior colleague.
“Ours was purely an arranged marriage. I am proud of my husband. He has always stood by me through thick and thin. At home, I am an ordinary housewife,” she mutters coyly.
The couple is blessed with two sons. While the older one is busy preparing for his Civil Services Examinations after securing a graduation degree even though his parents wanted him to go for higher degrees first, the younger one is studying in a reputed school.
For younger generations, especially the school-going ones, both Sarojini and Emelda have a message: “Focus on your studies but also give due attention to sports, cultural and academic events.”
The two tribal IPS officers point out that great opportunities to excel in various walks of life often slip out of one’s hands mainly because they did not learn the basics in their school and college days.
