Shobha Ohatkar Wiki, Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography & More

Shobha Ohatkar is an Indian civil servant who was appointed as the first female DGP of Bihar in 2020.

Contents

Wiki/Biography

Shobha Ohatkar was born on Friday, 3 September 1965 (age 57 years; as of 2023) in Hyderabad. Her zodiac sign is Virgo. She completed her schooling in Hyderabad. In 1989, she pursued a Master’s degree in Political Science at the Central University of Hyderabad. ^[1]Dainik Bhaskar When she was a child, her father always suggested her to join the service. After completing her studies, she cleared the UPSC exam on the first attempt and got the Patna cadet for service as Assistant Superintendent of Police. In an interview, she said that her father was responsible for her success because he always told her to work sincerely and honestly. After she got her posting in Bihar, her mother was a little worried about her, but her father was totally confident and motivated her a lot. In 1992, she became the first female ASP which led to many questions about her posting.

Shobha Ohatkar when she started the service

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 5″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

She belongs to a Marathi family. ^[2]Dainik Bhaskar

Parents & Siblings

Shobha’s father’s name is Balram Ahotkar, who is a former excise commissioner of Hyderabad.

Husband & Children

Shobha’s marital status is divorced. ^[3]Bihar Government Her son’s name is Aankesh Ohatkar and her daughter’s name is Akanksha Ohatkar.

Signature

Shobha Ohatkar’s signature

Career

Shobha became the first Assistant Superintendent of Police in Patna cadet in 1992. She was transferred to Pune in the year 2000 where she worked as the additional police commissioner. While working in Maharashtra, she was also the Executive Director of Security at Air India. She has worked as an SP in 6 districts of Bihar including Darbhanga, Hazaribagh, Chhapra, Vaishali, and Deoghar. In December 2020, she returned to Biahr cadet and became the first female Director General of Bihar. As of 2022, she is the IG of Home Guard and Fire Services.

Controversies

Air India gives clean chit to Shobha

In 2016, Air India presented a report to the Civil Aviation Ministry (CAM) and alleged that Shobha was travelling to different places and staying in hotels on the airline’s expense when she was serving as the Chief Vigilance Officer (Dy CVO). The Ministry sought an explanation from Air India. A senior Civil Aviation Ministry (CAM) official talked about the report submitted by Air India and said,

The report has stated that HRA was inadvertently paid by the finance department to the CVO which was, however, recovered immediately from her salary when she herself pointed it out. The report clarified that Ohatker’s stay in hotel in Mumbai was approved by the then CMD until a suitable residential accommodation in the city was allotted to her. A total of 31 journeys were ticketed over a period of one year of which only 21 were utilized for duty travel. Those were frivolous complaints. How can a person travel 31 times in a month as was alleged. The allegations of corruption are not only unfounded and false, but seems to have been made with a deliberate malicious intent to belittle the honesty and integrity of a senior officer.” ^[4]The Pioneer

Vikas Vaibhav v/s Shobha Ohatkar

On 10 February 2023, a screenshot of IPS Vikas Vaibhav’s tweet about “listening to abuse from DG madam every day” went viral on social media. In the video, it was seen that he had recorded the official meeting between him and Shobha and shared it on social media. After the video went viral, he was sent a show-cause notice by her. He was alleged of violating provisions of Rule 3 of the All India Service Conduct Rules, 1968 and was alleged of violating confidentiality. In the notice, it was mentioned,

The matter of recording by you in the viral message has been brought into the public domain. It is clear from this that the discussions held in the office meetings are recorded by you. This shows your wrong intention. It is also in violation of the relevant provisions of the Official Secrets Act. IPS Vikas Vaibhav has tried to tarnish the image of his senior official by making baseless allegations through social media. His conduct is completely contrary to the conduct of a senior police officer and is indicative of his indiscipline, lack of duty and acts against the law.”

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke in favour of Shobha and criticised Vaibhav’s actions saying,

You should know this very well, anyone working in a job, an officer, their job is not to tweet. This is the worst thing. If they have a problem, they should inform their department or seniors. They should convey it personally, not declare it publicly. This is the law.”

On 13 February 2023, he demanded a transfer and sanction of a 60-day leave he had earlier applied for, but he was not given permission by Shobha. On 16 February 2023, the home department also issued him a notice for his behaviour with a senior officer. ^[5]The Print

Assets/Properties

Movable Assets

Cash: Rs. 4,86,379

Bank Deposits: Rs. 55,00,000

Immovable Assets

Non-Agricultural Land: Rs. 1,75,00,000

Residential Buildings: Rs. 35,00,000

Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are according to the year 2022. It excludes the assets owned by her husband and dependents (minor). ^[6]Bihar Government

Net Worth

Shobha’s net worth for the financial year 2022 was estimated to be Rs. 2.5 Crore. It excludes the net worth of her husband and dependents (minors). ^[7]Bihar Government

Facts/Trivia

Shobha usually worked for the welfare of women. She created a committee that gave helpline numbers in Maharashtra for women’s safety. She also worked as the nodal officer for human trafficking in Maharashtra.

In an interview, she said that her aim was to create fear of police in the minds of the criminals. She was known by the name ‘Hunterwali’ in Bihar because of the strict actions she took against criminals. Once she beat some accused who used to rape women visiting temples in Deoghar so fiercely that criminals started fearing her, and she was given the name ‘Hunterwali.’

In an interview, she shared some of the big cases that she solved as an SP in Bihar. When she was the SP of Vaishali, she put a stop to triple riding on the bike which decreased 50 per cent of crime in the region. In the Diara area of Bihar, she arrested a gang of 16-17 criminals and in the year 2000, when she was the SP of Hazaribagh, she arrested 40 coal mafia.

In 2006, when she was on deputation in Maharashtra, she solved a big sex scandal in Ahmed Nagar. The case was about the rape of two minor girls in which many big and powerful people were involved. She arrested 26 of them and filed a chargesheet against all the accused within 90 days while she was the SP in the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW).

In an interview, she said that when she was the SP, she used to listen to people’s problems and gained their trust by working for them. She further added that any SP who wants to get successful should win the trust of the people by directly talking to them.