Surat: After eight years of relentless preparation and 35 attempts at various competitive exams, Bhavnagar’s Satyapalsinh Jadeja (28) finally realised his dream of joining the Gujarat police. On Tuesday, Jadeja received his appointment letter for the post of police constable in Gandhinagar, in the presence of the chief minister and deputy chief minister, along with 11,607 other newly appointed constables.A maths graduate from Bhavnagar University, he now awaits the results of the sub-inspector exam and hopes to secure that position as well.“Being jobless until 28, even after graduating, was not easy,” Jadeja told TOI. “My parents and elder brother stood by me throughout, and their unwavering support kept me focused on my goal. I appeared for many Gujarat govt recruitments. Earlier, I gave less importance to the physical test, which led to three unsuccessful attempts at the constable exam and two failures in forest exams. I also appeared for exams for sub-inspector, deputy section officer, mamlatdar, talati and others. But my dream was always to join the Gujarat police, which has finally come true.”Coming from a modest family, Jadeja’s father runs a local watch shop, and his elder brother is a civil engineer. None of his extended family members have held government jobs. Like many others, he faced additional challenges during the Covid period, which disrupted his preparation.“I started preparing in 2018 at community coaching classes with my college friends, and later continued on my own,” he said. “While my friends settled in business or other jobs, I did not give up, even during the Covid period when many abandoned their dreams. Every time I failed, I worked on my weaknesses and started again. In my latest police constable attempt, I focused on the physical test and cleared it. I now hope to perform well in the PSI and Revenue Talati exams as well.“
