Rinkoo Singh Rahee, a provincial civil service officer from Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, unearthed a 83-crore scholarship scam during the course of his work in Muzaffarnagar in 2008.
Eight men were charged and four were sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Shortly thereafter, the mafia involved decided to settle scores with him: he was shot seven times, and left on the brink of death.
Three hit his face, leaving him disfigured, blind in one eye, and with impaired hearing in one ear.
The attack proved to be a turning point in his life as it was a time when he decided to crack UPSC civil services exam. However, the journey was not smooth.
After the attack, he was hospitalized and later, sent to a psychiatric ward for too much protesting against corruption. Even his medical leave was not sanctioned.
However, that was not enough to deter the braveheart from fulfilling his dream of becoming a Civil Service Officer.
"For me, public interest is important. If there is ever a clash between self-interest and public interest, I will choose public interest," Rinkoo Rahee told NDTV.
He has cleared the Civil Services UPSC 2021 (Union Public Service Commission) exam, being ranked 683 in the exam. He is naturally overjoyed, since this was the last time he could attempt it.
Rahee has an eight-year-old son.
