Historian Rana Safvi on Tuesday evening was conferred with the Yamin Hazarika Award, the first woman from the Northeast to join the central police service.

The award is given every year by a collective of women professionals since 2015.

Safvi, who has published several books on culture, history, and monuments of India, was chosen for her "contribution to the syncretic culture of India".

"Hazarika was selected for the NCT of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Police service (DANIPS) in 1977. She held the post of assistant commissioner of Police in Chanakyapuri (Delhi) and went on to become deputy commissioner of police (Crime against Women Cell) in the national capital", it said.

"In the crucial period after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Hazarika was in-charge of three key police stations. In 1998, she was posted in Bosnia as part of the UN peacekeeping force. But her life was tragically cut short by destiny as she succumbed to cancer at the age of 43 in 1999", it added.

The ceremony was held online where Hazarika's daughter Huma presented the award to Safvi in Delhi. Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta was the guest of honour, the report added.