From beat duty to cockpit: Punjab Police constable picked to train as an IAF pilot

3 min readJun 8, 2026 10:02 PM IST

A Punjab Police Constable, Gursimran Singh, who had qualified in the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview for officer’s commission in the Indian Air Force (IAF) in December 2025 has been chosen for the flying branch and will now train to be a pilot.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Major General Yash Mor (retd), who had mentored the Constable for SSB interview said that Gursimran has secured All India Rank (AIR) of 52 in the Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) merit list declared a few days back. “Today he messaged to inform me that he has been selected for the flying branch. This is such a big achievement for him — from being a police constable to be a pilot in IAF,” said Maj Gen Mor.

This was Gursimran’s fourth attempt at clearing the SSB, having failed to make the grade in earlier attempts.

The 23-year-old is currently posted in Mohali and belongs to Ropar district. In an earlier conversation with The Indian Express after clearing the SSB interview Gursimran had said he got his BA degree from the Centre for Distance and Online Education of Panjab University, Chandigarh. He has been serving as a constable with the Punjab Police since August 2022.

“He has been student of my online course and mentoring programme. My only advice to him was don’t hide who you are. Take pride in the fact that you are a Constable with capability of becoming an officer and stay authentic and genuine,” said Maj Gen Mor.

DGP Gaurav Yadav congratulated Gursimran. “It is a matter of pride that a person from our force has been selected to join the IAF. We always encourage our young, well qualified personnel to strive for higher positions. I am sure he will excel in IAF as an officer,” he said.

Two Punjab Police constables, Anmol Sharma and Lovepreet Singh, were earlier selected to become commissioned officers in the Army in March 2024. They achieved this by clearing the Combined Defence Services (CDS) exam and the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview while still serving in the police force.

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Both constables were based at the 7th India Reserve Battalion (IRB) of the Punjab police. Anmol Sharma (24), who secured all India rank 99 in Combined Defence Services (CDS) exam, is the son of a serving Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI), also an international hockey umpire.

The other Punjab Police constable Lovepreet Singh (24) who has cleared the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview is the son of a serving subedar in Defence Security Corps’ 28 Ammunition Company at Kupwara.