Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, India’s first woman DGP, dies

Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, the first woman DGP of Uttarakhand and the country, died on Monday night. This has been confirmed by Director General of Police Law and Order Ashok Kumar. Bhattacharya had been keeping unwell for a long time. He breathed his last at a hospital in Mumbai.

Bhattacharya, a 1973-batch IPS officer, created history in 2004 when she became the DGP of Uttarakhand. On October 31, 2007, she retired as the DGP.

She was regarded as one of the finest police officers of the country. After her retirement, she tried her hand in politics and contested the 2014 General Elections from Haridwar seat on the Aam Aadmi Party ticket.

She held the coveted distinctions of being the second woman IPS officer (1973) after Kiran Bedi.

In 1989, her inspiring story was adapted into a popular tele-serial Udaan, written and directed by her sister Kavita Chaudhary who also played the lead protagonist in the series.