From a dental surgeon to an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, the ultimate aim of Dr Navjot Simi from Punjab was to “take away the pain of people”, and she did exactly that. So when Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the woman officer on why she chose the police services over the medical profession – her answer was candid, and possibly an inspiration for many women.

PM Modi, who is often referred to as the master of wordplay by many, asked the doctor-turned-IPS officer in an interaction last week: “Desh ke dushmano ke daant khatte karne ka rasta kyu chuna? (You had taken up the responsibility of giving relief to people from toothaches… then why did you choose the path of defeating the enemy?)”

Dr Navjot Simi laughed, took a brief pause, and replied: “I have been working in civil services since a long time… A doctor’s work and a police officer’s duty is to take away the pain of people, so I thought this is a bigger platform to work in service of others.” Nailed it, no?

A video was shared on Instagram by Navjot Simi from her brief one-on-one with PM Modi, while he was interacting with IPS probationers at the Hyderabad-based Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy — a police training institution — on Saturday.

Dr Simi, who has been posted in the Bihar cadre, thanked the prime minister for the interaction and wrote: “Grateful for the interaction with the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. Your guidance and advice for a more futuristic and compassionate policing is invaluable to us. We will work among the people and do our best to address their problems and march towards a ‘New India’.”

In the about three-and-half-minute video, PM Modi said that the officer from Punjab’s Gurdaspur will be an inspiration for “daughters” of the country. “I believe you will reach great heights with such inspiration and will be successful in making the police force more inclusive and sensitive,” the prime minister said.

The officer assured the prime minister that she will work for the betterment of women. “Whenever I go ahead in my field, I will do something for women… for their education,” she told PM Modi.