Amid much bickering, Param Bir Singh selected as Mumbai's top cop

Sanjay Barve gets grand ceremonial farewell; others in the running were additional director generals Rajnish Seth and Sadanand Date.

A frontrunner for the top job, Param Bir Singh, was appointed the Mumbai police commissioner a couple of hours after outgoing CP Sanjay Barve received a ceremonial farewell on Saturday.

Sources said the selection was preceded by a political bickering and consultations between Maha Vikas Aghadi partners, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena in particular. Home minister Anil Deshmukh had forwarded Singh's name to the CMO on Friday night before taking a flight to Nagpur. His proposal received Uddhav Thackeray's nod early on Saturday, only after deliberating with the NCP boss Sharad Pawar and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who impressed upon Thackeray that ACB director general Singh would be a better choice for the coveted post. It is learnt that additional director generals Rajnish Seth and Sadanand Date were also shortlisted for the top job.

Singh's appointment saw unprecedented anxiety and curiosity because of a friction-prone three-party MVA government. Each partner wants a say in the appointment of bureaucrats and police officers of all ranks. And Mumbai, being a high-stake playground, always finds a stiff tussle between the officers and their political mentors. Sources said Singh not only raced past other contenders but also surprised his adversaries in the MVA.

Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Barve's farewell parade at Naigaon Police Headquarters. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Singh, a 1988 Indian Police Service (IPS) batch officer was in the race for the post even when Barve was given the charge last year. Singh has served as Thane commissioner and additional director general (law and order). He had a stint in the anti-terrorism unit and worked with Mumbai Police at the zonal and divisional levels. His last assignment was as director general of state's Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Many IPS officers and politicians linked Singh's appointment to his ACB stint in which he played a significant role in giving DCM Ajit Pawar a clean chit in a multi-thousand-crore irrigation scam. Singh's recent meeting with NCP president Sharad Pawar was widely reported in the media and said to be a pre-curser to his elevation. Interestingly, Barve's elevation was also linked with the same case in the BJP-Sena regime. He had made a case stronger against the former water resources minister Ajit Pawar and given an affidavit to this effect. The same affidavit was dismissed by Singh before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court late last year. It started while the Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government lasted a mere 80 hours and the MVA took it forward after Ajit returned to the NCP which made the MVA with the Sena and Congress.

This time around, except for former city CP and head of the state police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, all other DGs and several senior ADGs were lobbying hard for the post the IPS officers want once in their career. There are officers who wouldn't mind if they are not considered for heading the State force, but would go all out to get the Mumbai chief's post that brings more clout than other uniformed services.

Sources said the NCP bosses wanted Singh anyhow, but the Shiv Sena and Congress had some reservations over the nomination. ADG Date, of IPS-1990 batch, was said to be the Sena's choice. Keeping the preference in the mind Date was also repatriated to the state cadre two weeks ago. Date is one of the 26/11 heroes and held city joint-CP (law and order) office very successfully before moving out to the Central Reserve Police Force and then as joint-secretary in the Union Government. Seth was suggested as a compromise candidate, but the NCP seemed to have prevailed, said a leader in the know of the matter.

But Date hasn't lost everything yet. He has six years of service left and would be in the reckoning for the top post. Sources said he was likely to head the force in any of the three cities—Thane, Pune and Nagpur. Seth, a year younger to Singh, may get an opportunity after Singh retires in June 2022. Among other aspirants were Singh's batchmates, intelligence commissioner Rashmi Shukla and Pune commissioner K Venkatesham, but they could not make the cut because their supervision of the Elgar Parishad probe was disputed by none other than Sharad Pawar. Shukla has clarified that she was on a long leave when the probe started, but to no avail. Venkatesham had petitioned the CM to explain his case. He will retire a month before Singh.

Some DGs also hoped against hope. Second in the state seniority after Jaiswal, Sanjay Pande (IPS-1986) has again been ignored. With 30 months of service at hand, Hemant Nagrale (IPS-1987) did not find favour, while D Kanakrathnam (IPS-1987) who will retire in December this year, will have to serve the current assignment.

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