Top cop Nupur Prasad said she is used to putting in long hours at work in this challenging district.
After the attack on Amarnath Yatra pilgrims that killed seven in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week, security for large groups of pilgrims of Lord Shiva known as Kanwariyas is a big focus for the Delhi Police next week. And Deputy Commissioner of Police Nupur Prasad is busy holding meetings discussing on security.
The top police officer of Shahdara district in East Delhi, through which the Kanwariyas enter Delhi from Uttar Pradesh, has made it compulsory to go for a field inspection ahead of it. She is currently the only woman heading a police district in the national capital.
"I was inspired by the serial Udaan as a child. It was on a female police officer and that image stuck to my head. So I used to visualize that if I was a police officer, what would I do," said Ms Prasad with a smile.
After postings in West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh, the 2007-batch IPS officer is in-charge of Shahdara at East Delhi, a highly crime-prone area that was made a police district seven months ago. Ms Prasad has been focusing on weeding out drug suppliers and other organized criminal gangs in the area.
"Mental toughness does not have anything to do with gender. I was in Arunachal three years back, where the previous SHO had fled during a law and order situation. When I went there, initially the MLA said he couldn't believe a woman had been sent. But after a month he told me he wants the next officer to be a woman as well."
The 34-year-old officer said she is used to putting in long hours at work in this challenging district. Over the past seven months, her team has worked out close to 200 cases.
But recently, her district made headlines for all the wrong reasons. A 21-year-old girl was stabbed in broad daylight by her stalker and the family alleged that despite a police complaint, no action was taken. But the arrests were made within 48 hours of the incident.
"It was a challenging case for us. The girl had lodged a complaint but did not want to pursue it later. Nonetheless we knew we had to make arrests quickly, as some people could have made the issue communal."
She credits the enthusiasm for her work to her husband, Surinder Kumar, also a DCP rank officer in-charge of South West District of Delhi.
"During this last case I was in office for over 48 hours. So my husband was the one taking care of the children back home".
But it's not just about policing a district, Mr Prasad wants to empower other women police.
"I try to make sure that more women in my staff go out. I have encouraged more women to come out and join beat policing and patrolling, so they are not limited to reception jobs."