Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya was the second woman officer in Indian Police Service (IPS) in India, the first being Kiran Bedi. A 1973 batch IPS officer, she was the first woman to become Director General of Police of a state and retired on 31 October 2007 after 33 years of service. She then turned to politics and ran as a candidate of Aam Aadmi Party from Haridwar, Uttarakhand in the 2014 Indian general election. Cases that Chaudhary handled in her career included the murder of seven-time national badminton champion Syed Modi in 1987 and the Reliance-Bombay Dyeing case in 1989. During her time as Assistant Superintendent of Police, Malihabad, Uttar Pradesh, she tracked down 13 dacoits in a single year. She also investigated several white collar crimes in banks and public sectors.
On 26 August 2019, Bhattacharya died at a hospital in Mumbai where she had been receiving care during the previous five to six months. Her body was cremated at the Worli crematorium in Mumbai. She was survived by her husband and two daughters. Uttarakhand Police Director General Law and Order Ashok Kumar paid tribute to Bhattacharya stating, “She was a simple and sweet-natured person who gave us a free hand while we worked under her when she was the DGP.” An official tribute event was held at the department’s headquarters on August 27th.
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