Maharashtra Police into officiating mode as regular posts lie vacant
| Date :30-Jan-2023 |
By Dheeraj Fartode
Adhocism rules the roost in Maharashtra where norms governing the police force, it seems, are getting tweaked leaving the officers gaping for counting delays of orders of their posting and promotions.
After the new government came into office, there were high hopes that the Maharashtra Police house would be set in order and rules would be followed properly. The force is trying to dust off the lethargy as frustration among rank and file is at an all time high. The reasons are not far off, one can see the telltale signs as key posts of Maharashtra Police are vacant for months.
Almost half-a-dozen of top-rank IPS officers of Maharashtra Police are right now kept on waiting list as the Department of Home, Maharashtra Government, though having issued their transfer order, seems to have forgotten to give them posting. Most shocking is that the crucial posts of Additional Director General Law and Order (ADG L&O) and DG Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) have been vacant for over last six months. Particularly, the post of ADG (L&O) is important in the hierarchy of Maharashtra Police and whenever DGP, Maharashtra, is out of headquarters, that is Mumbai, ADG (L&O) holds the charge. Due to these inordinate delays, the promotions of subordinate IPS officers have been held up for months.
A top rank official said that the post of DG ACB was vacant for the past one year since the then DG ACB Rajnish Seth was appointed as State DGP. The crucial post of ADG L&O is vacant since April 2022 after the retirement of Rajender Singh. ADG Traffic Kulwant Sarangal is currently holding the additional charge of ADG L&O.
DG rank posts -- Managing Director of the Police Welfare and Housing, Managing Director of Maharashtra State Security Corporation, DG Civil Defence are also not filled-up as more than six months have passed off but still Maharashtra Government has not made up its mind as to which officer is to be posted here. Currently, ADG rank officers have been given additional charge of the DG rank posts, the official stated further.
ADG Sanjay Kumar and ADG Pradnya Sarwade who were heading Training Dept and Railways respectively, have been promoted to the DG rank by the government last year. In spite of filling the vacant posts of DG rank, these officers were simply stayed put as their respective posts were upgraded, while the regular DG post lie vacant.
At the end of 2022, the State government carried out a major reshuffle of top rank police officials. Recently, Joint MD Maharashtra State Security Corporation Deven Bharti was appointed as Special Commissioner of Mumbai police.
Former ATS chief Vinit Agrawal, former Thane police Chief Bipin Kumar Singh, former ACB chief Prabhat Kumar, former Commissioner of Railways Kaisar Khalid and former Joint CP Admin (Mumbai) Rajkumar Vhatkar were also transferred during the reshuffle. While these officers are waiting to get new postings, many senior police officers of SP, IGP and ADG rank are yet to be transferred despite their tenure, its fixed period of two-years, has been overshot by almost six months.
When asked, a senior police officer said that demotivation was spreading fast in the force due to the inordinate delay in posting and promotions of the officers. The top most official of the State police was aware about everything. But he is not uttering a word for reasons best known to him, he further said.