THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When the civil services exam results for 2021 was announced on Friday, the employees of the state police headquarters had a lot to rejoice as one among them, Minnu P, made it to the coveted service, finding 150th rank in the list.
A native of Karyavattom in the capital, Minnu is currently a clerk handling petitions in the NRI cell at the police headquarters. She made it to the service in her sixth attempt, which began in 2015. She joined the government service in 2012, on compassionate grounds after her father Paul Raj, who was a policeman, died while in service. “Last time I could not make it due to 13 marks shortage. This time I was confident of making it and finding a place somewhere in the rank list,” says Minnu. “I had heard about civil services as my father was in the police service. But I was not passionate about civil services when I joined the service in 2012,” she said.
She began her civil services preparation in 2015. A post-graduate degree holder in biochemistry, she said that her original idea was a doctorate in her subject. She initially applied for a leave to pursue higher studies. It was after she cleared her preliminary and mains examinations that she sought a no-objection certificate to attend the civil services interview. She was also attached to former state police chief Loknath Behera’s office, and he encouraged in her attempts, Minnu added.
She expressed gratitude to senior police officers, including ADGP (headquarters) Manoj Abraham, DIG (armed police battalion) P Prakash and AIG (headquarters) Harishanker, for motivating her and providing help to achieve her dream.
