A Helping Hand for the North East: Robin Hibu

With the enthusiasm of a child, DGP Robin Hibu began to narrate his journey from a small village in Arunachal Pradesh to the Delhi Police Headquarters. He stood at the podium in his office to speak on an NGO he established to serve people from the northeast in metropolitan cities like Delhi. ‘Helping Hands’ is a not-for-profit organisation that conducts blood donation camps, medical treatment at high concessions, educational funding, cancer camps, and crematorial rights for poor people from the northeast. With its headquarters in Delhi, the NGO ensures that no northeastern is left on her own in the capital city, where cases of racial discrimination have always been high and unreported.

IPS Hibu’s Journey

Robin Hibu was born in 1968 in a small village called ‘Hong’ in Ziro Valley of Arunachal Pradesh. He told me that his tribe, called the Apatanis, does not include more than 10 thousand people. He acquired his early education in a humble Gandhi Ashram in his village. Because of his excellence in academics, he was called to Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University to pursue a master’s degree in sociology. 

Sir Hibu recalled that his visit to Delhi was very difficult. Often people would refer to him as ‘Bahadur’ or ‘Chinese’, while he had no social or financial support to counter. This made him highly agitated, and it was then that he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the cause of racial discrimination. Soon after completing his studies, Hibu joined as an IPS officer in 1993, becoming the first ever person from Arunachal Pradesh to join the Indian Police Services. 

Robin Hibu has served as the Joint Commissioner of Police in Delhi. Since his joining, Sir Hibu has been advocating the rights of the hill people of India, which includes seven northeastern states and one brother state of Sikkim. He has always been vocal on concerns about NE women’s safety in cities, racial discrimination and development in the northeast region.

SPUNER Unit of Delhi Police

In the year 2014, Hibu gave birth to the master plan of creating the Special Police Unit for the North East Region or SPUNER.  The force was created by the Home Ministry in response to the brutal killing of a student from Arunachal Pradesh, called Nido Tania, in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar market. This incident along with other frequent cases of racial violence and brutal assault of women from the northeast motivated Hibu to build a dedicated office for people from eighth states, Gorkhas of Darjeeling and the Ladakhis. 

Hibu was appointed as the first nodal chief of the special SPUNER force, which saw the induction of police inspectors and constables from the north-east in large numbers. During his tenure, he would conduct special meetings with MCD officers, Northeast student unions, professors, and even auto walas to sanitise them and make them aware of the northeast region. He is also known to have put his personal mobile number on social media platforms so that Northeastern can very easily reach out to him, directly.

Further during the Covid pandemic, Robin Hibu was managing the work of SPUNER coupled with the added responsibility of a national health emergency. He encouraged citizens to not fear the virus and to help victims without neglecting them. During this time, his NGO Helping Hand would also stock up food for residents of Northeast stuck in various parts of India. Often, his NGO would receive calls from as far as Kerala and Rajasthan in critical circumstances. 

In June 2024, Hibu was promoted to the Director General of Police by the Union Home, Ministry of India. He has many awards in his name, like the United Nations Peace Medal for Meritorious Services in Bosnia, the Presidential Police Medal for Gallantry and the Best IPS Officer Award. Eminent Indian boxer and Rajya Sabha MP Mary Kom has also supported Hibu’s social work by providing financial support to Northeastern COVID-19 patients in Delhi. 

One can know more about his personal experiences of racial discrimination and gallantry in the books, ‘Cop with Golden Heart, Robin Hibu’ and ‘Meri Udaan’.