Archana Jayant with her infant baby at work

The Uttar Pradesh police on Sunday transferred a woman constable to her native city after a photo of her went viral on social media. In the photo, Archana Jayant (30), a woman constable posted at Jhansi’s Kotwali police station was seen working at the office’s reception desk with her baby daughter sleeping next to her.

Om Prakash Singh, Director General of Police (DGP), has confirmed Archana’s transferred order to Agra. Singh called her a “quintessential 21st-century woman”. The DGP also added that Archana’s experience had inspired the state police department to explore the possibility of keeping a creche at each police stations.

Archana has also been rewarded with a cash prize of Rs 1,000. Speaking to The Indian Express, DGP Singh said, “When I saw the image and read the story, I spoke to the Inspector General (IG) Jhansi, who has rewarded the constable with Rs 1,000 in cash. I got to know that she is very hard-working.” He also said, “Despite the fact that she has a newborn, she did not take childcare leave. She opted to go to duty. When I spoke to her, she said the only problem she is facing is that she does not have family support,” reports IE.

Archana was posted in Jhansi since 2016 while her husband works for a private company in Gurugram. Her family stays in Agra and her in-laws are in Kanpur. Singh further said that as per the rule of the state police, a constable is not being posted at his/her home district. “She cannot be posted to Kanpur (officially her home district after marriage) as we do not post constables in their home district. She said she would be grateful if she could be posted in Agra and I immediately ordered for her transfer there so she can get her family’s support,” said DGP Singh, reports IE.

Rejoiced with the transfer order before Diwali, Archana said that she hasn’t met her family members for a long time and now she can enjoy the ‘Festival of Lights’ with them. Speaking to The Indian Express, Archana said, “I haven’t met my parents and husband in a long time and now my Diwali will be with them. I will also bring my elder daughter Kanak (10) to Agra. I did face some problems in Jhansi but received great support from my colleagues.”