Archana Ramasundaram
Archana Ramasundaram in 2016
Born (1957-10-01) 1 October 1957 (age 66)
Alma mater
OccupationPolice officer
Known forFirst female chief to head a paramilitary force
SpouseRamasundaram
RelativesCharubala Tondaiman (sister-in-law)

Archana Ramasundaram (born 1 October 1957), also spelt as Archana Ramasundram, is a retired Indian police officer who was a member of Tamil Nadu Police. She served in the Indian Police Service (IPS) for 37 years until her retirement in 2018 and was the first woman police officer of India to lead a central paramilitary force.[1] Her husband Ramasundaram served as a senior state IAS officer in the state of Tamil Nadu until 2011.

Career

She pursued her career as a police officer after her graduation in Economics from the University of Rajasthan. She joined the Indian Police Service in 1980 and was the only woman officer in the 1980 batch.[2] In 1989, she completed her Master of Science in Criminology from the University of Southern California. In 1995, she was awarded the President's Medal.

In May 2014, she joined the CBI as additional director and was the first woman officer in India to be inducted as an additional director in the Central Bureau of Investigation.[3] Her appointment was legally challenged by the Government of Tamil Nadu at the Supreme Court considering it as an illegal appointment and the Supreme Court gave verdict against the appointment of Archana.[4][5][6] She was also suspended from the post of DGP by the Tamil Nadu government for not requesting permission prior to the appointment.[7]

In 2015, she was sacked from the CBI and was appointed as the Director General of the National Crime Records Bureau.[8] However she was nominated for the position of CBI chief in 2017 despite her controversial selection into the CBI in 2015.[9][10]

On 3 February 2016, she was appointed as the Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal and was the first woman police officer to be officially appointed to lead a paramilitary force.[11][12][13] In July 2018, Archana was replaced by Rajni Kant Mishra as the new Director General of Sashatra Seema Bal division.[14] Archana retired from the IPS in 2018, a career which spanned for 37 years.

See also

References

  1. ^ Tripathi, Rahul (4 February 2016). "Leadership is more important than gender: Archana Ramasundaram, Director General Sashastra Seema Bal". The Economic Times. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Power Trendsetter: Archana Ramasundaram". Verve Magazine. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  3. ^ Bhagat, Rasheeda. "Archana Ramasundaram is right material to become CBI director: RK Raghavan". The Hindu Business Line.
  4. ^ Service, Indo-Asian News (20 August 2014). "Supreme Court: IPS officer Archana Ramasundaram's appointment to CBI post flawed and illegal". India.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Supreme Court asks Centre whether Archana Ramasundaram can join CBI as Additional Director". The Economic Times. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  6. ^ "CBI vs Jayalalithaa Over Top Woman Cop, Supreme Court Intervenes". NDTV.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  7. ^ BHAGAT, RASHEEDA. "The curious case of Archana Ramasundaram". @businessline. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Archana Ramasundaram out of CBI, appointed Director of National Crime Records Bureau". The Economic Times. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  9. ^ "After Controversy, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Could Get First Woman Chief. Key Meeting Today". NDTV.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Archana Ramasundaram may become first woman CBI chief". The Asian Age. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  11. ^ Bureau, National (2 February 2016). "Archana Ramasundaram is SSB chief". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  12. ^ Singh, Vijaita (4 February 2016). "I was appointed because of my seniority, says SSB chief". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Meet the IPS Officer Who Made History as India's First Woman to Head a Paramilitary Force!". The Better India. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  14. ^ "First ever woman chief of SSB retires; Rajni Kant Mishra takes charge". The Economic Times. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
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