Meet man, whose grandfather was dacoit in Chambal, studied at IIT, left high paying job, cracked UPSC, he is…, secured AIR…

A grandson of a dacoit in Madhya Pradesh’s Chambal, became an officer, this is an inspiring story of Dev Tomar, a resident of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. Dev Tomar changed his family reputation entirely, by cracking UPSC Civil Service Exam (CSE) 2024. 

He has faced challenges and taunts his entire life, but he didn’t lose hope and gave his all to crack one of the toughest examinations in the world. ‘People used to say my grandfather was a dacoit from Chambal, and that I would never amount to anything. But today, I’ve cleared the UPSC exam in my last attempt, and I couldn’t be prouder, says Dev Tomar.  

Dev’s impressive journey

Dev Tomar’s grandfather Ramgovind Singh Tomar was Chmabal’s famous dacoit. However, Dev;s father chose a path of education and earned a PhD in Sanskrit and was a school principal. He motivated his son to also follow the education path. 

Dev Tomar is an IIT graduate. He was working as a scientist at the headquarters of Philips in the Netherlands. He had a staggering Rs 88 lakhs annual package in hand. However in his mind, he wanted to clear UPSC. He began his preparations in 2019 along with his job. However, all his hard work was not enough to crack the UPSC exam. He gave four attempts, and even managed to reach the interview round in the previous attempts. In his final attempt he managed to secure  629th rank in UPSC CSE 2024.

His wife was his support system

Dev Tomar is married and has a child. When he suffered failures after failures, many asked about his backup plan, but his wife was his support system. After Dev’s savings were all used up, his wife supported his dream by taking up a job. His family also supported him throughout his two years of preparation.