Padsalgikar to take charge as Mumbai’s police chief today

He will take over from Ahmad Javed, who has been named India’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. KP Bakshi, additional chief secretary (home), made the announcement

Senior IPS officer Datta Padsalgikar has been appointed as the city’s new commissioner of police on Saturday.

Maharashtra Director General Of Police Pravin Dixit (right) with Datta Padsalgikar . (HT photo)

Padsalgikar, who takes charge on Sunday, will be the city’s 40th police commissioner.

He will take over from Ahmad Javed, who has been named India’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. KP Bakshi, additional chief secretary (home), made the announcement.

Outgoing police commissioner Ahmad Javed during his farewell ceremony in Mumbai on Saturday. (Kunal Patil/HT photo)

“Padsalgikar has been appointed as next commissioner of police, Mumbai, from January 31 on superannuation of Ahmad Javed,” the order stated.

Padsalgikar, an officer from the 1982 batch, returned to the state police cadre on January 14 after serving with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for more than a decade.

Padsalgikar’s appointment assumes significance as the island city has been vulnerable to terror attacks, said a senior official from state home department.

He is also said to be chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s first choice and was offered the post last September after Rakesh Maria was transferred following Sheena Bora murder case. He, however, reportedly rejected the offer.

For this appointment, the government has downgraded the post of CP to the rank of additional director general of police (ADG). It was upgraded to the rank of director general to appoint Javed last September. Padsalgikar is the senior-most ADG in the current state cadre.

“The post of commissioner of police, Mumbai now stands downgraded to the rank of additional director general of police (ADG) till further orders,” Bakshi said.

The order comes just five months after the state government ousted Maria as the police commissioner and upgraded the post to the rank of the director general.

The senior officer had even served at several embassies including the US. He has worked as personal and community affairs officer at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC in 2012. Padsalgikar is scheduled to retire in August 2018.