Anshika Verma IPS: The Inspiring Story Behind AIR 136 and Her Rise in Bareilly
There’s something quietly compelling about officers who don’t come from famous families or elite institutions, yet still make it into one of India’s toughest services. Anshika Verma is one of those stories. A 2021-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, she cracked the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2020 with an All India Rank of 136, and today she holds charge as Additional Superintendent of Police, South, in Bareilly.
A Small-Town Beginning With Big Ambitions
Born on 3 January 1996 in Prayagraj, Anshika grew up in a city that has long been linked with education and civil service aspirants. Her father, Anil Verma, reportedly worked in a government role, and her upbringing is often described as a fairly ordinary, middle-class one — the kind built on routine, discipline, and quiet expectation rather than privilege.
Before UPSC ever entered the picture, she was busy with something entirely different: engineering. She completed her B.Tech in Electronics and Communication, reportedly from Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology, around 2018. Anyone who has survived an engineering degree knows it leaves little room for anything else — yet she used that same analytical training to later pivot toward one of the most competitive exams in the country.
The UPSC Attempt That Didn’t Work — And the One That Did
Here’s the part of her story that aspirants tend to relate to most: she didn’t clear UPSC on her first try. Instead of treating that as the end of the road, she went back to self-study, refined her approach, and appeared again. The second attempt paid off — AIR 136 in the 2020 batch, earning her a place in the IPS with a Uttar Pradesh posting.
Building a Career, One Posting at a Time
Her journey through the ranks has been steady rather than flashy. After training, she took on her first field assignment as SHO in Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, handling everyday law-and-order responsibilities. From there, she moved to Gorakhpur as Assistant Superintendent of Police, where she’s credited with work on cases involving fake stamp networks and money-mule fraud rings — the kind of financially tangled crimes that increasingly require an investigator comfortable with technology, not just traditional policing.
That track record led to recognition: a DG’s Commendation Disc (Silver) in August 2024 for her service. By early 2025, she’d moved into a senior time-scale role, and in March 2025 she took charge as Additional SP, South Bareilly — the post she currently holds.
Why Her Story Resonates
What makes Anshika Verma’s journey stand out isn’t a dramatic twist — it’s the absence of one. No shortcuts, no coaching-institute miracle, just a failed attempt followed by a better one. For UPSC aspirants scrolling through her story online, that’s often the most reassuring detail of all: an engineering graduate from Prayagraj who didn’t get it right the first time, and made it anyway.
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