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‘We’re alert, but you too stay vigilant’: New top cop Sanjay Barve’s message to Mumbai
A soft-spoken officer of the 1987 batch, who is a chartered accountant, law graduate with a masters degree in arts, Mumbai’s new commissioner of police Sanjay Barve has a reputation for being a strict officer who believes in transparent administration.
The 42nd Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Barve, 59, is not new to the Mumbai police or Mumbai city, where he has served in different capacities from 1995 to 2004. Barve was appointed to the post on Thursday and will retire on August 31.
“Neither I, nor the Mumbai police is new to each other. Our primary job is to control crime in the city. The Mumbai police are with the citizens and will continue to be with them,” said Barve.
Speaking about the heightened concerns over the India-Pakistan tension, Barve said, “The current situation is unusual. Looking at the current scenario, we have increased the security, and will coordinate with central agencies such as CISF and others to keep the city safe. Security will be beefed up across the city, with increased police presence on the streets and control on criminal elements. The entire nation is on high alert, so I urge citizens of Mumbai to be alert and share information with us.”
A soft-spoken officer of the 1987 batch, who is a chartered accountant, law graduate with a masters degree in arts, Barve has a reputation for being a strict officer who believes in transparent administration. His recent posting as the chief of anti-corruption bureau (ACB) saw Mumbai police personnel being caught accepting bribes, which led to a major reshuffle in the force.
The Devendra Fadnavis-led government had appointed Barve, then state intelligence commissioner, to initiate a discreet enquiry to probe into the death of CBI special judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. The report concluded that Judge Loya had died of a cardiac arrest on December 1, 2014, in the presence of his colleagues from the judicial fraternity.
Barve’s first Mumbai posting was as the deputy commissioner of police of zone 8 in 1995, after which he served as the DCP of zone 6, zone 8, headquarters , zone 1, airport zone and economic offences wing till 2004. He has also held the post of superintendent of police (SP), Wardha; additional SP, Gadchiroli; additional director general, railways. During his stint as the joint commissioner (traffic), Mumbai, he started drives against jaywalking and honking.
Barve is also one of the few officers who got training in hostage negotiation. He was also credited for his effective handling of the Ramabai Nagar rioting case of 1999 and was also part of the special investigation team (SIT) probing the multi-crore fake stamp scam, involving Abdul Karim Telgi.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned Barve in connection with the flat allotted to his father, SV Barve, in the Adarsh society.
