Gayaji: In a small village in Gayaji district, Bihar, a mother’s dream has changed her family’s future. Renu Devi, who runs a small grocery shop, always wanted one of her children to become an IAS officer. Life in Dumaria block was not easy. Between 1995 and 2000, she had to cross a mountain river on foot several times a day to reach the market. The area was affected by Naxalite violence, and frequent strikes brought all work to a standstill. People lived in fear, but Renu Devi kept her hope alive.
She had studied only until Class 7, but her wish for education never ended. Her husband, Shambhu Prasad Gupta, was a graduate who opened a grocery shop to support the family. At first, he hesitated when Renu shared her dream, but later he supported her. Their son Sandeep Kumar was bright from the start. He completed his schooling in the village and later went to Patna to prepare for the IIT entrance exam. He joined Abhyanand’s Triveni Super 30 and cleared the IIT exam on his first try, graduating in mechanical engineering from IIT Mumbai.
In 2017, tragedy struck when Sandeep’s grandfather passed away and a few hours later, his father suffered a fatal heart attack. Sandeep returned home to support his family. His mother reminded him of his father’s dream of seeing him as an IAS officer. Motivated, Sandeep left his private job and moved to Delhi to prepare for the UPSC exams. For nearly four years, he studied with full dedication while his mother ran the grocery shop to meet his needs.
Sandeep’s journey was not easy. In 2020, he reached the interview stage but was not selected. In 2021, he could not even clear the prelims. Each time, his mother encouraged him to keep trying. He worked harder and cleared the UPSC three years in a row — first for the Indian Railway Management Service, then for the IPS, and finally in 2024 for the IAS with an All India Rank of 266. He is now training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie. Sandeep says his parents and teacher Abhyanand played a major role in his success and promises to improve primary education and health facilities when he becomes a District Magistrate.
