Sanjay Barve is named Mumbai’s new police chief
The appointment comes after the Centre rejected the state’s request to extend the tenure of the incumbent DGP, Dattatray Padsalgikar.
The state government on Thursday appointed Sanjay Barve as Mumbai’s new police commissioner, while the incumbent, Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, was promoted as the director general of police (DGP) of Maharashtra. The appointments come after the Centre rejected the state’s request to extend the tenure of incumbent DGP, Dattatray Padsalgikar, a 1982-batch Indian Police Services (IPS) officer, appointed in June 2018.
He was due to retire in August that year, but was granted two three-month extensions — first till November 2018, and then till February 2019. The state wanted to extend his tenure till June 2020, citing an earlier Supreme Court order that said a DGP must have a minimum tenure of two years irrespective of the date or superannuation, or retirement.
Earlier this month, however, the Centre rejected the state’s proposal. The state then suggested Jaiswal, Maharashtra’s senior-most IPS officer (1985 batch), for the post. The appointment of the DGP is usually subject to approval from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which is expected to shortlist three names from the recommendations the home department sends.
However, a senior official from the department told HT: “In the current scenario of tensions between India and Pakistan, it was not possible for us to keep the post vacant by giving the additional charge to other officers. We have handpicked the state’s senior-most officer for the post, but with the rider that the appointment is subject to the UPSC’s approval.”
Jaiswal will serve a long term until he retires in 2022. Jaiswal has earlier served as a joint secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat.Jaiswal said there was zero tolerance for corruption in the force. “All my officers are qualified enough to rise to any challenge,” he said.
Barve, from the 1987 batch, will take Jaiswal’s place as the 42nd police commissioner of Mumbai. Barve has spent nearly 12 years in the Mumbai police force, and headed the Anti-Corruption Bureau until this transfer. He is due to retire in August 2019.
“I am not new to Mumbai police, and Mumbai police is not new to me. Our primary job is to control crime in the city,” said Barve.
The home department had also considered the additional director general (law and order) Param Bir Singh and Intelligence Commissioner Rashmi Shukla, for the post.