A day after he was shunted out of the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner, senior IPS officer Rakesh Maria on Wednesday said he was not contemplating quitting.
"I am not thinking of resigning. Reports saying so are not true," Maria told PTI.
There was speculation after Maria's sudden promotion that he might resign from the post as he was apparently unhappy with the action.
Maria, who was heading the high-profile Sheena Bora murder case and had interrogated the accused, was promoted and transferred to a non-descript and unchallenging post of being the director general of Home Guards.
He was replaced by Ahmed Javed, a DG-rank official, who took over as Mumbai Police commissioner in the upgraded post.
Maharshtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had cleared both the appointments before he left for Japan on Monday.
However, after the sudden action that created quite a flutter, the Maharashtra government climbed down in the evening and said he would continue to "supervise" the probe. The decision came under attack from opposition Congress and NCP.
Maria, 58, who made his mark as a traffic cop, leapt into the limelight when he led a team to crack the 1993 Mumbai blasts case within 24 hours, inspiring noted director Anurag Kashyap to create the groundbreaking film, Black Friday.
{{/usCountry}}Maria, 58, who made his mark as a traffic cop, leapt into the limelight when he led a team to crack the 1993 Mumbai blasts case within 24 hours, inspiring noted director Anurag Kashyap to create the groundbreaking film, Black Friday.
{{/usCountry}}He also managed the 26/11 attacks investigation where he interrogated the sole surviving Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab.
The top cop had taken a keen interest in the Sheena Bora murder probe and was leading the questioning of key people linked to the case, including Indrani, her husband and former Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea as well as her ex-husband, Sanjeev Khanna.
This also brought him criticism from several quarters and the decision to move him was taken last week during a meeting of the departmental promotion committee headed by Bakshi.
Javed, who took charge as Mumbai’s police commissioner, lost the race to Maria in 2013, for the prestigious post that sources say is often lobbied for by officers and even politicians who want their picks to get the job.
Known for his strict attitude towards criminals, he worked as joint commissioner of Mumbai Police (law and order) and was responsible for closely monitoring and handling witnesses in the Best Bakery case from the 2002 Gujarat riots after the Supreme Court moved the trial to Maharashtra.
NCP alleged that Maria was abruptly transferred owing to "political pressure" from Centre and to stop the probe into the money laundering angle in INX Media, founded by Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in Sheena Bora murder case, and her husband Peter Mukerjea.
"The transfer (of Maria as Mumbai police commissioner) was done so as to stop investigations into the money laundering angle into INX Media, floated by Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, in which foreign companies from Singapore, UK and USA had invested about Rs 500 crore," NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said.
(With PTI inputs)
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