R. Sreelekha (born 25 December 1960) is an officer in the Indian Police Service and the first Lady Officer of the IPS from Kerala, India. Sreelekha is also an author and now running a successful YouTube channel- “Sasneham Sreelekha” (With Love, Sreelekha) to share her experiences as a police officer. She has also served as managing director for public sector organisations in Kerala. During her tenure in the CBI, she earned the nickname of 'Raid Sreelekha' Prior to joining the police service, Sreelekha, worked as a lecturer at the Shree Vidyadhiraja College. She also worked for the Reserve Bank of India, as a Grade B Officer and was posted as a Statistical Officer in Mumbai. In January 1987, at the age of 26, Sreelekha became the first woman IPS officer in Kerala Cadre. After joining the police service, she has served as District Superintendent of Police in 3 districts, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur. Sreelekha also worked with the Central Bureau of Investigation for 4 years as Superintendent of Police in Kerala and DIG in New Delhi. She was promoted to Deputy Inspector General of the Ernakulam Range. In 2005, Sreelekha was posted as the Managing Director of the Kerala State Co-operative Rubber Marketing Federation. In June 2007, she was posted as the Managing Director of the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala. Later on, she also served as the Inspector General, Crime Branch. She also served as Addl. DGP, Armed Police Battalions with additional charge for Training. From her posting as ADGP Vigilance, on 15 February 2014, she has been posted as ADGP (Police Home Guards, Community Policing, Gender Justice and Nodal Officer for Nirbhaya). She was the Organising Secretary of the 5th National Conference of Women in Police, organised by the Bureau of Police Research & Development in July 2012, and is also a strong advocate of gender parity in the Kerala Police force. As ADGP, Sreelekha was asked by Kerala Home Minister, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan to conduct an inquiry into the involvement of Kerala Information Commissioner K. Natarajan, who had allegedly persuaded a Dy.S.P of Police to leave out the name of V. S. Achuthanandan from the list of accused in a land scam case. After completion of investigations, Sreelekha recommended the suspension of the Information Commissioner, upon finding that the official had misused his office. R. Sreelekha as ADGP Vigilance & anti-corruption Bureau, chargesheeted the Disproportionate Asset case against IG Tomin J. Thachankary, accused also in several other cases. As retaliation, Thachankary accused Sreelekha for violating norms in visiting Thailand prior to Government Permission.
