Seema Dhaka is the first Delhi police officer to be ‘promoted out of turn’ for rescuing 76 missing children

Seema Dhaka, Chief of Police at Delhi’s Samaypur Badli Police Station, became the first Delhi police staff to receive an “out of shift promotion” on Wednesday after rescuing 76 children missing in less than three months.

The promotion was carried out within the framework of the Asadharan Karya Puraskar incentive scheme announced by the city’s police commissioner in August this year, according to an official statement.

The incentive plan promised out-of-shift promotions for officers and lead officers who rescue more than 50 children under the age of 14 in a year. Up to 56 of the children rescued by Dhaka were under the age of 14.

“I am a mother and I never want anyone to lose their child,” Dhaka said. The Indian Express. “We work day and night every day on missing reports to rescue children.”

She described rescuing a minor from a village in West Bengal in October this year as “one of the most challenging cases.” He said the boy’s mother had filed a complaint two years ago, but then changed her address and mobile phone number.

“We went to a small town and crossed two rivers during the floods,” he said. The Indian Express. “Somehow we managed to rescue the boy near his relative’s house.”

Dhaka said he also worked on several cases in which teenagers left their homes after having fights with their parents and later got into drugs and alcohol.

“When we rescue the children, we advise them and take them to the police station,” he said.

Several people, including Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava and actress Richa Chadha, congratulated Dhaka on Twitter for her promotion.