Satish Mathur is state’s new DGP

MUMBAI: Satish Mathur, a 1981-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been appointed Maharashtra’s new director general of police. He will take over from

MUMBAI: Satish Mathur, a 1981-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been appointed Maharashtra’s new director general of police. He will take over from Praveen Dixit, who took over the job last December and will retire on Sunday.

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The state home department issued the order on Saturday morning after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis signed it.

Mathur, 58, has about two years to go before he retires in June 2018.

He earlier headed the state’s anti-corruption bureau (ACB) for three months but the government has not named a replacement. Instead, the additional director-general of police, ACB, will hold the post for now.

According to a source, though former police commissioner Rakesh Maria is the state’s senior-most director general, he is unlikely to be made the head of the ACB. Ever since he was unceremoniously removed from the post of police commissioner last September, Maria has been heading home guards department, considered to be a relatively insignificant posting. His sudden transfer from the post of police chief had raised many eyebrows as it took place when the investigation in the Sheena Bora murder case was at its peak. Maria will retire in January 2017.

Other claimants to the post of director-general of police, ACB, are Mumbai police commissioner Datta Padsalagikar; Meeran Borwankar, who is currently on central deputation; Prabhat Ranjan, director-general, legal and technical; and VD Mishra, managing director, police housing and welfare corporation.

Between October 2002 and October 2012, Mathur served as director, Air India.

He initiated the separation of ground services into a self-sustaining subsidiary known as Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL).

He also restructured the airline’s finances and initiated cost-saving methods.