Maha urges union govt to relieve NIA chief Date, tipped to be next state police chief

The state government had shortlisted seven senior most IPS officers for the next DGP’s position and shared the list with the UPSC in November

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has urged the union government to relieve National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief Sadanand Date from central deputation and send him back to the state. Sources in the state government say Date – who is venerated for taking on two of the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008 – is likely to be named Director General of Police (DGP) once Rashmi Shukla, the current state police chief, retires on December 31.

Maha urges union govt to relieve NIA chief Date, tipped to be next state police chief

When asked about the possibility of Date being named as the next DGP, additional chief secretary (home) IS Chahal said, “No comments”.

During his career spanning 35 years, Date, a Maharashtra cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has continuously worked on policing-related topics like effective delivery of police services, organisational development, counter terrorism, community policing and police welfare. He has received several commendations and awards for his work, including the Mahatma Gandhi Peace and Communal Harmony award from the Minorities Commission and the Police Medal for Meritorious Services in 2007. He also received the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry in 2009 for valiantly fighting against two of the ten terrorists involved in the 26/11 attack.

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After taking over as NIA chief on April 1, 2024, Date has handled a clutch of high-profile cases, including the Pahalgam terror attack and the Delhi explosives haul.

He was among seven senior most IPS officers shortlisted by the state government for the next DGP’s position. The list was shared with the Union Public Service Commission in November. The commission will select a panel of three officers from which the state will have to choose one as the new DGP.

According to officials aware of the developments, the seven IPS officers shortlisted for the role are NIA chief Sadanand Date, DGP (legal and technical) Sanjay Verma, commandant general of home guards Ritesh Kumar, DGP (anti-corruption bureau) Sanjeev Kumar Singhal, director general (state police housing and welfare corporation) Archana Tyagi, civil defence director Sanjeev Kumar and DG (government railway police) Prashant Burde.

A notable exclusion from the shortlist is 1992-batch IPS officer Amitabh Gupta, currently on central deputation with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Gupta continues to hold the rank of inspector general (IG), while some of his juniors have been promoted.

Date, the seniormost among the shortlisted candidates, is scheduled to retire on December 31, 2026. He has worked with various central agencies and is widely respected for his track record. If picked, he can get a two-year term as Maharashtra’s top cop.

Career trajectory

Date, a qualified cost and management accountant, was awarded a PhD by Pune University in 2003 for his research on ‘Monitoring of Economic Offences: A Management Control Systems Perspective’. He visited the United States in 2005-06 as a Fulbright scholar to study investigation and prosecution of white-collar and organised crimes.

Date worked as the Superintendent of Police in Bhandara district from 1996 till 1998, after which he was posted in Mumbai as a deputy commissioner of police. After serving in the city for three years, he joined the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), where he worked from 2001 till 2005. He then returned to the city as an additional commissioner of police in the Economic Offences Wing and later worked as the additional commissioner of police for the central region of Mumbai.

In 2010, Date was named as the chief of Force One, a commando force set up after the 26/11 attack. Two years later, he was appointed joint commissioner of police (law and order) of Mumbai police. In February 2014, he was named joint commissioner of police (crime) in Mumbai. After serving in the position for around a year, he was appointed inspector general of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Chhattisgarh. Later, he was made inspector general (operations) in the CRPF headquarters.

Date returned to the Maharashtra police force in February 2020, after serving as a joint secretary in the department of justice under the ministry of law and justice. He served as the first commissioner of the newly formed Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar police commissionerate from September 2020 to December 2022. Before being posted as the NIA director general, he served as the deputy general of police of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad till March 2024.