Kiran Bedi

Her Excellency
Kiran Bedi
PPMG PNBB
24th Lieutenant Governor of Pondicherry
In office
28 May 2016 (2016-05-28) – 16 February 2021 (2021-02-16)
Chief MinisterV. Narayanasamy
Preceded byA. K. Singh
Succeeded byTamilisai Soundararajan (additional charge)
Director General of Bureau of Police Research and Development
In office
2005 (2005)–2007 (2007)
Police Adviser and Director of United Nations Police
In office
2003 (2003)–2005 (2005)
Personal details
Born
Kiran Peshawaria

(1949-06-09) 9 June 1949 (age 75)
Amritsar, East Punjab, India
CitizenshipIndian
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
Other political
affiliations		National Democratic Alliance
Spouse
Brij Bedi
​
​
(m. 1972; died 2016)​
[1]
Children1
Parents
  • Prakash Lal Peshawaria
  • Prem Lata
RelativesAnu Peshawaria (Sister), Tek Chandra Arora
ResidenceNew Delhi
EducationSacred Heart Convent School
Cambridge College
Alma materS.R. Govt. College (BA Hons.)
(MA)
Delhi University (LL.B.)
IIT Delhi (Ph.D.)
Awards

Kiran Bedi PPMG PNBB (born 9 June 1949) is a former tennis player who became the first woman in India to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972 and was the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry from 28 May 2016 to 16 February 2021.[2][3][4] She remained in service for 35 years before taking voluntary retirement in 2007 as Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development.

As a teenager, Bedi was crowned the national junior tennis champion in 1966. Between 1965 and 1978, she won several titles at various national and state-level championships. After joining the IPS, Bedi served in Delhi, Goa, Chandigarh and Mizoram. She started her career as an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in the Chanakyapuri area of Delhi, and won the President's Police Medal in 1979. Next, she moved to West Delhi, where she brought about a reduction in crimes against women. Subsequently, as a traffic police officer, she oversaw traffic arrangements for the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1983 in Goa. As Deputy Commissioner of Police of North Delhi, she launched a campaign against drug abuse, which evolved into the Navjyoti Delhi Police Foundation (renamed to Navjyoti India Foundation in 2007).[citation needed]

In May 1993, Bedi was posted to the Delhi Prisons as Inspector General (IG). She introduced several reforms at Tihar Jail, which won her the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1994. In 2003, Bedi became the first Indian and first woman to be appointed head of the United Nations Police and Police Advisor in the United Nations Department of Peace Operations. She resigned in 2007, to focus on social activism and writing. She runs the India Vision Foundation. During 2008–11, she hosted a court show Aap Ki Kachehri. She was one of the key leaders of the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in January 2015. She unsuccessfully contested the 2015 Delhi Assembly election as the party's Chief Minister candidate.

  1. ^ "Kiran Bedi's Husband Brij Bedi Passed Away in Gurgaon". The New Indian Express. 31 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Kiran Bedi removed as Lt Governor of Puducherry". NetIndian. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  3. ^ "किरण बेदी को पुडुचेरी के उपराज्यपाल पद से हटाया गया, सीएम ने जताई खुशी". Abp Live (in Hindi). 16 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  4. ^ Iyer 2012, p. 26.