IPS officer Manzil Saini cleared UPSC while pregnant, later won gallantry medal

She was pregnant when she appeared for the Civil Services Examination in 2005. She cleared it in her first attempt and joined the Indian Police Service, becoming widely described as the first married woman to enter the IPS. Nearly two decades later, Manzil Saini has built a career that includes a major kidney racket investigation, becoming the first woman to head Lucknow police as SSP and receiving a gallantry medal for a 2017 hostage rescue.Born in Delhi in September 1975, Saini studied Physics at St Stephen's College before pursuing higher studies at the Delhi School of Economics, where she won a gold medal. She worked in the corporate sector for three years before appearing for the UPSC examination. She was allotted the Uttar Pradesh cadre and joined the 2005 batch of the IPS.