456 cops retire from Mumbai Police, 27 felicitated in low-key affair

As many as 456 cops and ministerial clerical staff working with Mumbai Police retired on Monday

As many as 456 cops and ministerial clerical staff working with Mumbai Police retired on Monday. Most of these police personnel, from constables to assistant commissioners of police (ACPs) rank, have June 1 as their birth date and on retire on May 31, on the eve of the completion of 58 years.

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A police officer said that as the new academic sessions used to begin on June 1, children born in the 1960s and 1970s were often given that date as their date of birth, especially if their parents were unsure about the exact dates. Because of this, hundreds of government sector employees have their birth dates on June 1 and retire on May 31.

Among those who retired from the police department on Monday include investigators who played a key role in some of the most sensational and high-profile cases, including several terror probes, in the past.

“In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, official farewell functions for retiring cops have been cancelled since last March. However, seeing the decline trend in the cases of Covid-19 infection in the city, the department has restarted the felicitation ceremony again from this month,” said a police officer.

Considering Covid-19 protocols, senior officers have instructed to keep low-key farewell functions on the respective police stations or other units.

“To ensure social distancing and avoid mass gathering, commissioner of police Hemant Nagrale felicitated a group of only 27 retired police personnel selected on the basis of their seniority. The function was held at JS Bharucha Hall at the police headquarters on Monday morning,” said deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Chaitanya Siriprolu.

The family members of the police personnel were not invited for the retirement day function as part of the Covid-19 protocol.

Those felicitated on their last day in the service include assistant commissioners of police (ACPs) Dattatray Bhadgude, Sukhlal Varpe, Rajendra Patil, Vijay Dhopawkar, Pandit Thorat, Pandharinath Waval, Kundalik Nigade, Vilas Kanade and senior inspectors Pandit Thackerey, Vinod Gadankush and Vidyasagar Kalkundre.

The retired cops were presented with wrist watches, a new identity card and a memento, among other gifts. The souvenirs for the other retired police personnel were sent to their homes.

The special branch-1 organised a farewell function for its department’s retired personnel at Prerna Hall in Fort.