Rakesh Maria to stay Mumbai police commissioner till September

Contrary to the earlier reports that the Maharashtra government was keen on replacing police commissioner Rakesh Maria, sources in the DGP office have said the government is in favour of continuing his tenure.

Contrary to the earlier reports that the Maharashtra government was keen on replacing police commissioner Rakesh Maria, sources in the director general of police (DGP) office have said the government is in favour of continuing his tenure. A final call will be taken by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the coming weeks.

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According to sources, government officials have indicated there was no reason to replace Maria as his performance was good, and there was no strong candidate of the rank of additional director general, who could replace him. Earlier, there were reports of the 1981-batch Maria being replaced by KK Pathak, who is from the 1983 batch and is currently the police commissioner of Nagpur. “The possibility of Maria being the commissioner till September cannot not ruled out, unless the government decides otherwise,” said a source in the DGP office.

Maria’s promotion is likely in September, when the current state DGP Sanjeev Dayal (1977 IPS batch) and DG (housing) Arup Patnaik (1979 batch) retire.

However, a major reshuffle in the Mumbai police and other units in the state is on the cards. Some of the eligible officers are likely to be promoted to the rank of additional director general of police (ADG), and others up to the rank of inspector general of police (IGP) may get a promotion. The state is likely to transfer those Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who have completed 2 years in their current posting.

Joint commissioner of police Vivek Phansalkar and BK Upadhay (both of 1989 batch) are likely to be made additional director generals. Deputy inspector general (DIG) rank officials of the 1997 batch, including Rajvardhan, Milind Bharambe and Quaiser Khalid, are due to be promoted as IGP.

Sources said the DGP office has completed the departmental promotion committee meeting for the 1989 batch and a meeting for the 1997 batch and others will be conducted in a few weeks. After the meeting, the police establishment board will hold a meeting to recommend new postings to the chief minister, who also holds the home ministry charge, sources said.