When in uniform, he is a tough and no-nonsense cop and when not on duty, he is this helpful teacher who is more than willing to guide poor students.
Meet 36-year-old Dhanbad rail DSP Vinod Kumar Mahto who helps job aspirants crack competitive exams. He has been teaching geography free of cost to around 80 students preparing for competitive exams like SSC, railway, bank and JPSC. Mahto has been taking hour-long classes from 8.30am for the past two months at the Bank More-based coaching centre of Samadhaan - a society of educated youths committed towards providing free of cost education to poor students.
"Teaching gives me satisfaction. I believe imparting education among poor students is no less a service to the society than curbing crimes," said Mahto, a native of Bokaro who was a lecturer at a private college for more than eight years since 2001 before cracking the JPSC exam to join the police service.
A postgraduate in geography and a BEd degree holder, Mahto also has the experience of teaching in government high school in Giridih. "Besides being policemen, we are also human beings and we have the responsibility to bring about a positive change in the society by contributing in our own way. So, when Samadhaan founder Chandan Singh explained me about the educational initiative of the outfit, I readily agreed to contribute," the officer added.
So, does teaching followed by a hectic day tire the cop?
"Absolutely not. For me, taking classes and interacting with the students is refreshing. Working in the police force for the last six years and dealing with criminals, at times I thought that all the knowledge that I have gained through decades of hard work has not been utilised properly. Now, I do not feel so anymore," Mahto.
The rail DSP also lauded the efforts of Samadhaan. Volunteers of this outfit have dumped their fat MNC jobs to educate the poor. They started off with holding classes on rooftops. The members even work as waiters and serve food at weddings and parties to generate funds for the education of over 2,000 poor students.
"We launched the Bank More centre about seven months ago and classes are held from 7am to noon," said Samadhaan founder Chandan Singh.
He was all praise about Mahto. "After interacting with DSP Mahto, I felt he has a very good command over geography and therefore we requested him to help the poor children," said Singh who himself cracked various competitive exams and finally left the job of a teacher at a government school in Sasaram, Bihar, to return to his hometown Jharia and start this initiative.
For engineer Prem Arya, who attends classes to crack the civil service exam, Mahto is a phenomenal tutor. "Besides being a good teacher and having brilliant command over geography, Mahto sir is also a very kind person. He is approachable and does not come across as a typical top cop," he added.
