Smita Tandi (born ) is an Indian

police constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

in the state of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

. She set up a fund to help people unable to pay for medical treatment and received the 2016 Nari Shakti Puraskar in recognition of her humanitarian efforts.

Career

Smita Tandi works as a police constable. In 2013 her father, who had also worked for the police, became ill and died when her family could not afford to pay for treatment. In his memory, Tandi set up a fund called Jeevandeep for people unable to access medical treatment. She opened a

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

account to promote the fund in 2015 and twenty months later had almost 7.2 lakh () followers. When Tandi receives a request for help, she visits the person and if the story is true, she then posts about it on Facebook and makes an appeal for funds. Tandi received the 2016 Nari Shakti Puraskar in recognition of her humanitarian efforts. After her superiors heard about her activism, Tandi was moved to a position dealing with social media complaints on the

Bhilai Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. With population exceeding 1 million, it is the second-largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur. Bhil ...

women’s helpline.

Personal life

Smita Tandi was born and lives in

Durg Durg is a city in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, east of the Shivnath River and is part of the Durg-Bhilai urban agglomeration. With an urban population of 1,064,077, Durg-Bhilai is the second largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur ...

, a city in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

. She represents Chhattisgarh at volleyball. In 2018, Tandi reported an incident of sexual harassment on a train between Bilaspur and

Bhatapara Bhatapara is a city and a Nagar Palika (municipality) in the Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara district of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. History During the British rule from 1854 to 1864, Baloda Bazar and Bhatapara were part of the Raipur district. ...

. Her assailant was arrested by the Railway Protection Force.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tandi, Smita Year of birth missing (living people) People from Durg Indian women police officers Nari Shakti Puraskar winners Activists from Chhattisgarh Indian humanitarians Indian women activists 1990s births Living people