Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat, IPS officer from Telangana was conferred with the 2017 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Heroes Award.
This award is given by the Unites States Department of State.
He is third IPS officer to get this honour.
He was awarded for his vital role in elevating human trafficking as a government priority and his innovative approach to investigating cases and dismantling human trafficking operations.
Currently, Mahesh Bhagwat is Police Commissioner of Rachakonda, one of the three Police Commissionerates located in Hyderabad.
Rachakonda Police Commissionerate had closed 25 brothels – 20 residential apartments and five hotels- in less than a year.
The Commissionerate also had participated in one of the largest crackdowns on labour trafficking in the country, which had led to the identification and rescue of more than 350 children bonded forcibly to work in brick kilns
Each year, the US Department of State honours individuals around the world who have devoted their lives to the fight against human trafficking, including lawmakers and police officers.
