MARIE-LOU FERNANDES
Marie-Lou Fernandes is a committed officer of the Indian Police Service with an outstanding leadership record.
In the course of her career, Fernandes was in charge of 7 urban police stations and over 500 police
personnel for Amravati City, coordinated 13 battalions of the State of Maharashtra paramilitary forces in 10 locations throughout the state, oversaw 7 Police Training Schools, and served as Assistant Inspector General of Police for Administration in the State of Maharashtra.
She also was Superintendent of Police of the Amravati District where she was in charge of 28 rural police stations, over 2000 police, headquarters, and office staff, and responsible for supervision of
investigation, prosecution, operations, intelligence, and security of VIPs and vital installations.
Subsequently she held a post of Deputy Commissioner for the State Intelligence Department with the
responsibilities of intelligence collection and analysis.
Most recently Fernandes served as commandant supervising a battalion of over 1300 of armed police
and office staff and managing administration, planning, budgeting, housing and welfare of the entire staff under her command.
During her service for the Amravati District, Fernandes successfully prevented a blood bath between two communities in Achalpur. The town was shared by Hindus and Muslims and was known for several riots recorded in the past decade. The incident that could have led to a massacre started with a Muslim boy teasing a Hindu girl. Upon learning of the confrontation Hindus in Achalpur threatened to kill the boy and Muslims were ready to retaliate.
Consequently about 200 Hindus encircled the Achalpur police station demanding strong action against Muslims. As the gathered Hindus did not respond to repeated warnings, and more armed mobs gathered in the area, Fernandes ordered a baton charge to disperse them. By the nightfall curfew was instituted.
Through intelligence gathering Fernandes learned that the incident was instigated by two powerful warring leaders in two communities now in conflict. The two instigators were behind bars by next morning and taken to the most remote police station in the district.
In her role as Superintendent of Police, Fernandes not only concentrated on strategy for resolving the
conflict but also successfully managed communication with the affected communities, her superiors, and the press, and ensured safety of her police officers.
As part of her strategy, Fernandes invited political representatives, the press and the public to a peace meeting. To combat rumors and allegations regarding police action taken thus far, Fernandes shared with those gathered the details of the plans and actions of the perpetrators of the communal tension and offered all the details of the police response. The meeting was a success and a tragedy in Achalpur was averted.
While in Achalpur Fernandes proved herself as an excellent strategist and champion of public relations, at the Maharashtra Police Headquarters she succeeded as a problem solver and able administrator. In her role as Superintendent of Police - Training, and Assistant Inspector General - Administration, she oversaw the computerization program for the Police
Headquarters.
The systems used at the time consisted of a maze of rules and regulations, circulars and government
orders, and many categories of records. It took 6 months just to complete a systems study. As time table was very tight, the total systems restructuring was not possible. Instead Fernandes decided on a
compromise: a user-friendly, icon-driven world-class software application that could do the job.
While the system was accepted by the enthusiastic and technology-oriented seniors and avoided by others, its proof of worth was that the National Crime Records Bureau in New Delhi is currently in the process of developing a similar application software for their use.
For her first presentation as a Mason Fellow, Fernandes developed and shared an insightful case
study on the complexities of leadership in the police force, and initiated an productive group discussion on the case.
Marie-Lou Fernandes is a committed officer of the Indian Police Service with an outstanding leadership record.
In the course of her career, Fernandes was in charge of 7 urban police stations and over 500 police
personnel for Amravati City, coordinated 13 battalions of the State of Maharashtra paramilitary forces in 10 locations throughout the state, oversaw 7 Police Training Schools, and served as Assistant Inspector General of Police for Administration in the State of Maharashtra.
She also was Superintendent of Police of the Amravati District where she was in charge of 28 rural police stations, over 2000 police, headquarters, and office staff, and responsible for supervision of
investigation, prosecution, operations, intelligence, and security of VIPs and vital installations.
Subsequently she held a post of Deputy Commissioner for the State Intelligence Department with the
responsibilities of intelligence collection and analysis.
Most recently Fernandes served as commandant supervising a battalion of over 1300 of armed police
and office staff and managing administration, planning, budgeting, housing and welfare of the entire staff under her command.
During her service for the Amravati District, Fernandes successfully prevented a blood bath between two communities in Achalpur. The town was shared by Hindus and Muslims and was known for several riots recorded in the past decade. The incident that could have led to a massacre started with a Muslim boy teasing a Hindu girl. Upon learning of the confrontation Hindus in Achalpur threatened to kill the boy and Muslims were ready to retaliate.
Consequently about 200 Hindus encircled the Achalpur police station demanding strong action against Muslims. As the gathered Hindus did not respond to repeated warnings, and more armed mobs gathered in the area, Fernandes ordered a baton charge to disperse them. By the nightfall curfew was instituted.
Through intelligence gathering Fernandes learned that the incident was instigated by two powerful warring leaders in two communities now in conflict. The two instigators were behind bars by next morning and taken to the most remote police station in the district.
In her role as Superintendent of Police, Fernandes not only concentrated on strategy for resolving the
conflict but also successfully managed communication with the affected communities, her superiors, and the press, and ensured safety of her police officers.
As part of her strategy, Fernandes invited political representatives, the press and the public to a peace meeting. To combat rumors and allegations regarding police action taken thus far, Fernandes shared with those gathered the details of the plans and actions of the perpetrators of the communal tension and offered all the details of the police response. The meeting was a success and a tragedy in Achalpur was averted.
While in Achalpur Fernandes proved herself as an excellent strategist and champion of public relations, at the Maharashtra Police Headquarters she succeeded as a problem solver and able administrator. In her role as Superintendent of Police - Training, and Assistant Inspector General - Administration, she oversaw the computerization program for the Police
Headquarters.
The systems used at the time consisted of a maze of rules and regulations, circulars and government
orders, and many categories of records. It took 6 months just to complete a systems study. As time table was very tight, the total systems restructuring was not possible. Instead Fernandes decided on a
compromise: a user-friendly, icon-driven world-class software application that could do the job.
While the system was accepted by the enthusiastic and technology-oriented seniors and avoided by others, its proof of worth was that the National Crime Records Bureau in New Delhi is currently in the process of developing a similar application software for their use.
For her first presentation as a Mason Fellow, Fernandes developed and shared an insightful case
study on the complexities of leadership in the police force, and initiated an productive group discussion on the case.
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