Political crisis takes its toll: Mumbai police’s annual charity show ‘Umang’ postponed

The current political turmoil in the state seems to have not spared even the Mumbai police’s annual charity event

The current political turmoil in the state seems to have not spared even the Mumbai police’s annual charity event.

Shah Rukh Khan, Sonu Sood, and Abhishek Bachchan at ‘Umang’ in 2015. HT Archives

‘Umang’, which was scheduled to be held on June 26 at Jio World Garden in Bandra Kurla Complex, has been postponed without a new date. Though the official reason given was the surge in Covid-19 cases, police sources have pointed to the crisis in the ruling political alliance.

City police commissioner Sanjay Pandey, in one of his social media posts on Friday, said, “Taking into consideration the recent spike in Covid-19 cases, we have decided to postpone Umang. The new date will be announced soon. I am thankful to the police constables and officers who participated in the event rehearsal.” Pandey is set to retire on June 30.

A senior IPS officer, however, said, “The chief minister and other cabinet ministers generally attend the event. But none of the political leaders could have attended the programme this year given the political developments. Now the police are also on alert, as there is likelihood of a law-and-order situation.”

‘Umang’, organised for the policemen and their families, is attended by Bollywood celebrities, entrepreneurs, and social and political workers.

“The programme had not been organised in the last two years because of the pandemic and we were hopeful that it would happen this year on June 26. Several celebrities had given their dates, and actors like Parineeti Chopra and Isha Koppikar had even posted their invitations on social media two days ago,” a police officer said.

Bollywood personalities like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Kapil Sharma, Katrina Kaif, Kartik Aaryan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, and Janhvi Kapoor had attended the show in the past, the officer added.

The Mumbai police earn around ₹4 crore from the event and the money is used for police welfare. They spend around ₹28 lakh on the programme and ₹5 lakh on transportation arrangement for police personnel.