Camera: Athar Rather, Ribhu Chatterjee
Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
The film ‘12th Fail’, based on the life of IPS Officer Manoj Kumar Sharma, inspired many UPSC aspirants. Sharma is currently an Inspector General of Police in the CISF, assigned to the Maharashtra Cadre.
Over 1,200 kilometers from Maharashtra, Sahil’s life story is also an inspiration.
Sahil Kumar is working as a nightguard in a society in Delhi-NCR, and is often seen watching UPSC coaching videos on his smartphone, while on duty.
“It is difficult, but if we lose to challenges, we won’t ever be able to achieve anything in life”, says Sahil, whose only goal is to adorn an officer's uniform one day.
'Restoring Family's Honour'
But what inspires a young Sahil to become an IPS officer?
Back home in Bihar's Biyawani village, Sahil’s family had loaned Rs 85 lakh from unofficial lenders in 2017, to set up a poultry farm.
In the last seven years, he claims to have returned them a whopping sum of Rs 2.5 crore against the loan; but Sahil’s family still continues to be harassed by the lenders.
Helpless, they deserted their Biyawani home and moved to Delhi in 2023.
Sahil Kumar is the lone hope of his family.
(Photo: The Quint)
Sahil also recorded a video of a lender threatening him: “If we run him (Sahil’s father) naked in the village, will you feel good?”
“They assaulted my father in 2018. I was so furious, I felt like killing them. But my father told me, 'If you really want to take revenge, do that with a pen, not with a gun.' Since then, becoming an IPS officer has been my only goal.”-Night guard Sahil Kumar
Sahil is the lone hope of his family; his story serves as an inspiration for many. As poverty and a threat of lenders loom over Sahil, his ambition remains unwavered.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)