Mumbai’s new police commissioner Hemant Nagrale: All you need to know
Hemant Nagrale, a 1987-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has served as director general of police, technical and legal, before taking charge as Mumbai police chief
Hemant Nagrale, a 1987-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has served as director general of police, technical and legal, before taking charge as Mumbai police chief. Here’s a brief profile:
Education
Till Class 6, Nagrale studied at a zilla parishad school at Bhadrawati in Chandrapur district. Thereafter, he continued his education at Patwardhan High School, Nagpur.
Nagrale graduated from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, formerly Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering at Nagpur, as a mechanical engineer. He then completed Master of Finance Management course from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.
Work life
His first assignment was in the Naxal-affected Chandrapur district as additional superintendent of police, Rajura during 1989-1992. During his tenure as deputy commissioner of police (1992-94), he successfully controlled post Babri masjid communal riots in Solapur.
Thereafter, as superintendent of police (SP), Ratnagiri (1994-1996), he handled the land acquisition problem related to ENRON or Dabhol Power Corporation.
As SP, criminal investigation department (CID) (crime) during 1996-1998, he investigated MPSC paper leak case, the infamous multiple children kidnapping, and murder cases involving Anjanabai Gavit and her daughters.
Big cases
Nagrale then proceeded on deputation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in March 1998 and served till September 2002. Initially, he was posted as SP, BSFC, CBI, Mumbai and later as DIG, CBI at New Delhi.
He supervised and completed probes in several cases such as the ₹130-crore Bank of India case involving Ketan Parekh, the ₹1,800-crore Madhaopura Co-op Bank scam and 2001 Harshad Mehta cases involving ₹400 crore.
Nagrale’s services as the staff officer of SS Puri, who was appointed as deputy general of police (DGP), special investigation team (SIT) to probe the Telgi stamp scam as directed by Bombay high court, was deeply commended for detailed research and matching scrutiny.
He got a promotion and was posted as special inspector general of police (IGP) and director (vigilance and security) in MSEDCL (June 2008-August 2010). His tenure oversaw better enforcement and 25% increase in revenue of the company by reducing power theft.
2008 Mumbai blasts
On November 26, 2008 Mumbai witnessed a terrorist attack when a group of 10 terrorists targeted various places in the city. Nagrale, who was on deputation to MSEDCL, helped shift the injured to hospitals. He also spotted and inspected a bag containing RDX-powered bomb and removed it to a safer place and summoned bomb detection and disposal squad.
He and four police personnel entered Hotel Taj where they helped remove the injured and dead, and shifted them to hospitals. He coordinated with senior officers and helped rescue hundreds of people trapped inside the shopping plaza of Hotel Taj with the help of the staff.
Policy making
During his tenure as special IGP (administration) in DG office, he revamped MPKAY Scheme (Health Scheme for Maharashtra Police) and reduced the expenditure by ₹10 crore in 2011-12, while making it more effective and useful.
During his tenure as the joint commissioner of police (admin), Mumbai, he drafted the residential quarter allotment policy, ensuring transparency in quarter allotment in the city.
For a brief period in 2014, Nagrale held additional charge as commissioner of police, Mumbai.
Recent postings
From May 2016 to July 2018, Nagrale was posted as commissioner of police, Navi Mumbai as part of which he handled the Maratha reservation agitation whose focal point was Navi Mumbai.
He was then elevated to DG rank in October 2018 and was entrusted with responsibility of looking after the forensic science laboratories in the state.
Nagrale is an avid golfer and tennis player and is also a black belt in Judo. He has won medals in All India Police Games. He has also received President’s Police Medal, Vishesh Seva Padak, and Antarik Suraksha Padak.