Dreams unlimited: From pizza delivery boy to police officer

In militancy-infested Jammu and Kashmir, a young man from a penury-ridden family who worked as a waiter, a car washer and a helper at a grocery store for over seven years, dreamed of making it big one day. Today, he stands tall in Khaki with stars glittering on his shoulder.

Moin Khan, 28, attributes his achievement to ‘Operation Dreams’, coaching classes run free of cost by an IPS officer Sandeep Chaudhary.

“I belong to Thanda Pani village in Nagrota constituency of Jammu district. My parents are illiterate and I am the first graduate in the family,” Khan said. His elder brother is a patient of Down syndrome. Currently Khan is undergoing training at the Udhampur police training academy.

“My father Mohammed Sharief used to sell milk before opening an eatery (dhaba) in Gujarat but in 2009 he met with an accident,” Khan said. After the mishap, Khan, who was left to fend for his family, picked up petty works along with pursuing academics.

“I graduated in commerce via correspondence in 2012, then joined Pizza Hut as a waiter for about ?2,500 per month for three years. Simultaneously, I pursued BBA,” he said.

Khan worked from 6pm to 2am every night at Pizza Hut, and also used a small space available to him at Narwal to begin a car washing business with help from friends, and worked as a car washer for three years.

“Eventually, a notification for the recruitment of sub-inspectors was out in 2016 and I applied for it,” he said.

“A friend told me about ‘Operation Dreams’ being run by an IPS officer at a banquet hall where students from weaker sections were taught free of cost. I joined the classes which helped me crack the exams. In December last year, results were declared and a week ago I joined the police training academy at Udhampur.”

Sandeep Chaudhary, senior superintendent of police Shopian said, “We began Operation Dreams in Jammu where I would teach 150 students from 8am to 10am. Moin Khan worked very hard and cracked the physical, written and interview stage of the examination. I am proud of him.”

“His is a story of pure grit. It is quite a journey from a Pizza Hut waiter to a police sub-inspector. No excuse is big enough to crush our dreams,” Chaudhary said.