NEW DELHI, JULY 25: Yamin Hazarika, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime against Women), who was known for her impeccable track record in the force, including a three-month stint in Bosnia, died yesterday. She was 43. Hazarika, the first woman from Assam to have cleared the police service exams, is survived by her 13-year-old daughter and her son, nine.It was in Bosnia, where she was posted as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force, that she was found to be suffering from leukaemia, said her father S H Hazarika. Treatment began only when she returned last September, at Mumbai's Tata Institute and at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where she passed away yesterday morning.A 1977-batch DANIPS (Delhi Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service) officer, she was serving her second term as the DCP (Crime against Women Cell) in Delhi. Earlier, she had served as ACP Chanakyapuri and as a DCP in the Delhi Armed Police. Her husband, Rajeev Sagar, is an Indian Police Service officer fromthe Haryana cadre.``She was a very quiet child, who always kept to herself. a bright studious kid who was very fond of reading,'' recalls her elder sister Yasmin. ``I still remember when the comic books first came to India. We were in Shillong and she was the first one to get a copy for herself. Not only that, she would take her copy to a quiet little corner and read it aloud to herself, enacting the characters and closely following the illustrations. How we brothers and sisters used to laugh at her then.''It was at Shillong that Hazarika spent her childhood. She passed her Senior Cambridge exams from Pine Mount Convent and then came to Delhi for her higher education. She graduated in History from IP College and in 1977 she got through the civil services.In the force, Hazarika is remembered as a very honest and ideal officer, attached to the cause she was fighting. That was perhaps one of the reasons that she was given charge of the Crime against Women Cell twice.Her course mate Kanwaljeet Deol(Additional CP, traffic) remembers her as a brave and cheerful person. ``She was always up for adventure and even during her tenure with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Bosnia, she kept it up,'' she said. In fact, Hazarika was a recipient of two prestigious awards the Nirman and Mahila Shiromani awards.``She was a strong-willed person, who had accepted her fate. But no where did she let that depress her. She covered up her pain and insisted on making the most of the time she had,'' remembered a friend. And it was her attitude to life that gave others an impression that the worst was over.Said Jai Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime Against Women), ``I had spoken to her a month and a half ago and she said that she was much better. In fact, we all thought she had been cured. She was a fair and excellent, but strict officer.''Added Inspector Omwati Malik, ``Just because it was a women's cell, it did not mean that she would not give men a proper hearing. She often told the womenoutright that they were in the wrong.''Many journalists remember her as a very helpful officer, who even ``tossed'' up ideas and always got back when contacted. Recalled a reporter, ``I had gone to meet Yamin for a story on sexual harassment. And prompt as she was, she immediately asked if I would like to accompany the team for one of the raids. I did and not only did I get my story but also realised why she was so respected by her peers. It was so typical of her - co-operative, confident and full of bright ideas.''
