Dileesh Sasi, a medical doctor, who secured the 49th rank in the civil services.Pala (Kottayam): It was third time lucky for Dileesh Sasi, a medical doctor, who secured the 49th rank in the civil services, the results of which were declared Wednesday night.
"Last two times, I couldn't go past the main exams. So, this time, ahead of the mains, I resigned from my job to study and was really fortunate to crack it," Dileesh told Onmanorama over the phone.
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Dileesh, who passed out of the Kottayam Medical College in 2013, has since been pursuing his civil service dream. Renu Raj, second rank-holder in the UPSC exam 2014, was his batchmate at the college.
Sriram Venkitaraman, the now popular Devikulam subcollector, who had won the second rank in the civil services exam of 2014, is also an MBBS from the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.
So what's with doctors turning civil servants?
"During my college years, I felt that I could do more for the country in a civil servant role and hence decided to go for it," the Pala native said.
And it has not been an easy journey for the 29-year-old. For two years, he just managed to clear prelims and found the much-feared main exams to be a major roadblock. During these years, Dileesh worked as a lecturer at the Kottayam Medical College and then at the Idukki Medical College. His work commitments also meant that he could not go for full-time coaching. But in 2016, Dileesh did not want to take any more chances and decided to resign and fully concentrate on his studies.
And in the run-up to the mains, he spend over 10 hours every day studying. The interview panel too did not pose any major hurdles and Dr. Dileesh Sasi is a civil servant now.
"Really happy to have cleared this. Since the results were getting delayed, I had started preparing for the next prelims on June 18. The results couldn't have come at a better time," he added.
