The free online coaching by the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) Additional Director General (ADG) Mahesh Bhagwat has yielded exceptional results this year, with 13 of his students cracking the tough UPSC exams and making it to the top 100 ranks in the country. Bhagwat initially started helping students through emails before launching free online classes, stated a report in The New Indian Express.
The results of the UPSC final examination were announced on Tuesday, May 23. The candidates who qualified for the Mains appeared for interviews from January to May this year. Among them, Ishita Kishore, who secured All India Rank (AIR) 1, and Smriti Mishra, who secured AIR 4, were also trained by Bhagwat for their interviews.
The qualifiers include Ishita Kishore (rank 1), Smriti Mishra (4), Kritika Goyal (14), GVS Pavandata (22), Sandeep Kumar (24), Sankhe Kashmira Kishore (25), Yadav Suryabhan (27), Ajmer Sanket (35), Anup Das (38), Richa Kulkarni (54), Muskan Dagar (72), Ayushi Jain (74), Dabholkar Vasant (76), and Avula Saikrishna who secured rank 94.
What was different this year? Bhagwat stated that approximately 600-700 students were part of his training this year, with around 150 successfully passing the examination. For the past 10 years, the CID Chief from Maharashtra has been assisting students in realising their dreams.
It initially started with a student from his hometown, Pune, who asked him questions via email. As WhatsApp gained popularity, two groups were created: one for students in Maharashtra and another for students from the rest of the country.
“We already had a group of alumni from the State Institute for Administrative Careers (SIAC) in Mumbai, through which we started training students. When I moved to Telangana, I extended the initiative here as well,” Bhagwat explained and added, “There are separate groups for prelims and mains, but only technical questions are discussed in the former.”
When a student reaches the interview stage, Bhagwat personally spends at least an hour training them rigorously. “Students from Telugu states approach me in person, based on my availability. For others, we schedule phone calls or video calls,” Bhagwat said. He provides customised mock interview questions tailored to the candidate's native state, hobbies, work and skills, ensuring thorough preparation. Now, even students who have cleared the examination are mentoring others in the same group.
The officer, who cleared the UPSC in 1995, considers this service to society. “I faced numerous struggles during my own preparations. I had to work to support my family due to our financial situation. Many seniors and bureaucrats helped me,” he said, adding that he only expects students to serve society well in return.
