Than Singh’s ‘pathshala’ features in first episode of Delhi Police’s ‘Kissa Khaki Ka’ podcast

The story of a constable, who started his own school for slum children called ”Than Singh ki Pathshala”, was among the first ones to be featured on Delhi Police’s podcast, ”Kissa Khaki Ka”, which was aired digitally on Sunday.

The weekly podcast will feature a series of unheard stories related to crime, investigation and humanity in an effort to connect with the masses and celebrate the extraordinary services rendered by Delhi Police.

Delhi Police is the first police force in the country to have its own podcast.

The personnel chosen to be featured during the podcast have displayed remarkable sincerity towards their duties and at the same time, carried out social and humanitarian services voluntarily. Their stories will be narrated by Vartika Nanda, a media educator and prison reformer.

According to the police, Than Singh was chosen for the first episode to highlight the difficult times he has braved and that he is still giving something back to the society.

Delhi Police has always strived to keep up with the policing benchmarks of the day, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Branch) Suman Nalwa said, adding that communication is no longer about sharing information one way and it needs to be a conversation, an engagement.

”Through social media, we want to reach out to the masses, hear from them, understand what more could be done to share a mutual trust between us and the citizens. We are communicating in the language and style of respectful bonding. This way, we want to enhance last-mile policing,” she said.

Detailing the story of Singh, Nanda talked about his daily routine post the duty hours.

”It was 5 pm. Than Singh was at the Red Fort chowki. His duty hours were about to end but instead of going home, he would first head to his pathshala, where many children would be eagerly awaiting his arrival,” the narrator said.

The children lovingly call it ”Than Singh Ki Pathshala”, which functions out of a small temple near the Red Fort.

Singh lived in a ”jhuggi” (slum cluster) with his parents and used to go for ironing clothes with them. But he always wanted to study and get a good job. He also dreamt of teaching poor kids.

His dreams came true when he became a constable in Delhi Police. In 2016, he started his school with four children. Now, the school has 60 students.

Singh gives them pens and books and tries his best to fulfil their demands.

Due to the lockdowns clamped to curb the spread of COVID-19, many of the children left for their villages, but Singh continued with his ”pathshala” with those who were in Delhi and during the troubled times of the pandemic, it was a source of joy for the kids.

Singh also tries to ensure that the children stay away from the world of crime.

”Kissa Khaki Ka” will continue to feature such exceptional stories every week.